YuGiOh! Revival of Dragons
by jkBAKURA
Summary: 6 years after Lady of Dragons, Duel Monsters Culture is now dying.  As Seto Kaiba and Duke Devlin attempt to revive the game, Isis, Derik, and Peter get caught up in an attempt to destroy everything that Kaibacorp and I2 have worked for.
1. Getting Things Rolling

**Greetings once again loyal readers. Let me assure you that I have grown as a writer, and have taken great lengths to make this story well worth the time to read.**

**The rules of the game will follow the game rules almost to the letter. Some errors are intentional tweaks for excitement purposes, but unlike last time, they won't be made through carelessness if I can help it. Most should go unnoticed unless you have the rulebook handy.**

**For those who like the unfamiliar cards posted at the end of the chapter, I hate to disappoint you. I will do my best to explain the rulings as I go along so I don't confuse you.**

**The Safecracker card in this chapter was created by Cyber Commander. He has some of the best ideas.**

**This story takes place about 6 years after LoD ended. This leaves the characters at about 15 or 16.**

**The story will feature tragic situations, and issues that come with the characters' maturity and not all of them will be easy to watch. There also will include some of the swearing and violence, but it shouldn't get worse then average everyday life.**

**Some of the more dramatic chapters will have warnings of their own should they need them.**

**I think that covers about everything.**

**Enjoy the story**

**Revival of Dragons: Chapter One: Getting Things Rolling**

A well dressed Father rounded the corner of his home to verify that his son was still huddled by the door. It was just as he expected.

The events of years past were dimmer now, with only two facial scars to verify the events ever took place. The youth was fifteen now, his best friend a year older. His sandy hair had grown difficult to control, and was best described as a "mop." Peter Wheeler had never bothered to change out of his school uniform. In fact, Joey had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't even pick up his shoes.

"Peter, I know you're excited about seeing your Aunt again, but for Pete's sake you can't wait there all day," Joey offered concerned.

"Watch me," Peter replied hotly.

It wasn't his aunt he was anxious about; he had talked to her before. The landmark was that this was the first time he'd be meeting his eight-year-old cousin Matthew. _Meeting,_ Peter restated with a curled lip, _I believe the proper term is babysitting._

Duke and Serenity Devlin were returning to Japan on more then just a family visit. Duke Devlin had been owner of Industrial Illusions for years now, ever since Pegasus had retired. Business had never done quite as well as it had with Pegasus at the helm. In fact, Duel Monsters had only been releasing expansions every two years since just before the final Battle City Tournament.

Duke had taken to inventing new monsters for his Dungeon Dice game rather then basing them off of card monsters. In fact, from what Joey understood, Industrial Illusions was now little more then a distributor for Kaibacorp software.

Mai had picked up the phone a month before, and Serenity had told her that the family would be in town, and the two wives set up a dinner date at the Black Clown.

Peter got to play Babysitter to Matthew, and while he was looking forward to seeing his cousin, he wasn't going to let go of the fact that his Mom had shoved the job on his shoulders without asking.

Joey, obviously wanting to say more, was silenced by a knock at the door. Each rap on the wood felt like a jackhammer on the back of the boy's skull. Peter felt himself longing that Derik was nearby, but was comforted by the fact that Taishi would soon be on her way.

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Duke Devlin always had a room available at the Black Clown. It was, after all, where he had gotten his first start. The company owner caught himself looking across the street, parking space where the Turtle Game Shop used to be.

"Things have definitely changed," Serenity commented as she walked in, noting where her husband was staring.

Duke nodded in agreement. "But it happened so fast."

Serenity's brow furrowed with thought. She looked older then she was, the stress of a long feud with her brother, and being away from home causing the slightest undertone of gray in her hair, years too early. The woman's eyes were still young though. Duke always loved that sparkle of admiration in them.

One of the few times they had spoken between her wedding and the previous month was when Joey had called her with the news. Tea and Yugi Motoh were getting a divorce.

Joey hadn't gotten all of the details, but to him, the issue was obvious. Tea wasn't in love with Yugi, and never really had been. The relationship was built on clinging to an infatuation with the Pharaoh. The woman had chosen Yugi hoping to be with someone who just wasn't what she was expecting.

It was the events of the previous tournament that had been the beginning of the end. After Yugi had sent the Puzzle back to Egypt with Marik and Bakura, Tea knew something was wrong. The rift deepened when she insisted that Derik give up Duel Monsters, stating that it would always be an invitation to danger, as it had always been for her husband.

In the end, Derik spoke on his own behalf, and with the heartbreaking decision to make of one parent or the other, he made his choice in Yugi. Derik's last hug from his mother had been in court that day, and the last time he saw her was as she drove away, no longer a resident to the house.

The scandal wasn't followed by the media. Even then, Duel Monsters had begun to die out, but Derik and Yugi just couldn't take the memories of the game shop so nearby.

Peter talked to Derik about once a month, but as the years went on they had less and less to say. They hadn't met face to face in years.

Duke went back to make sure that the Okonomiyaki was not yet cold. After so much time in America, it surprised him that he still knew how to make it.

For no reason in particular, Duke checked to see if his old Duel Disk was working, and counted the number of cards in a moderately worn deck to make sure they were all there. The man smiled a bit for old time's sake, and turned as Serenity tapped him on the shoulder to signal that their guests had arrived.

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"Seems we always end up talking about Duel Monsters," Joey relented, as the fifth attempted subject of conversation died within two sentences.

Duke shifted in his seat uncomfortably, causing his famous die earring to bounce against the man's cheek, much to his annoyance.

"That's not the subject I'd like to get into right now," Duke admitted. "Kaiba insisted that we get Maikeru Itai to come promote our new project. I'm not looking forward to this at all."

"Who?" Mai asked.

Serenity cleared her throat, taking over for a subject that was obviously tough for her husband to discuss. "Maikeru Itai is one of the last duelists on the Professional Circuit. It's the only name people really recognize from dueling any more. He's American, so it's no surprise you haven't heard of him over here. Ever since he made it to the pros, he's never defeated an opponent."

"No wonder he's well known," Joey laughed. "He's never beaten anyone?"

"He's never had to," Duke finished grimly. "Everyone he's dueled has surrendered before the final blow."

The table went dead quiet.

"So," Mai attempted, "what theme does he use?"

"Let's talk about something else," Serenity fielded quickly.

"Ok," Joey quickly went along. "How 'bout you Duke? You're the Industrial Illusions owner; you must be one of the few duelists left out there."

Deciding that it didn't hurt, Duke slid his deck across the table. Mai couldn't see anything, but Joey's expression told the table that he was confused.

"Uh, Duke, I know you like dice, but you could kill yourself with these."

"Oh, the payment," Duke chimed as he realized what the question was. "Check the Field Card, that's what it's there for."

"What's this thing going to… oh," Joey finished, his eyes looking at two very different cards.

"Tricky," the blond noted, though obviously impressed, "but if anyone can make it work it's be you."

Devlin accepted the praise with a smile.

"Mai still has her deck too, don't you Hon," the Wheeler husband revealed.

Mai blushed slightly, tightening her grip on her purse.

"Aren't you even curious as to what our newest project is?" Serenity let out of nowhere. Joey instantly knew that she had been waiting for them to ask all night.

Mai slumped sheepishly. "It had crossed my mind, but I didn't know how to bring it up."

"Well, it's like this," Devlin supplied, making sure everyone at the table had his attention. "Kaiba called me about six years ago with an idea to get Duel Monsters back as a huge popular icon."

"No way," Joey interrupted excited.

Mai was a bit more skeptical. "And just how does he plan to do that?"

"By building a school for the teaching Duel Monsters," Duke revealed with a grin. The room went uncomfortable; the Wheelers obviously unsure if the man was being serious.

"Kaiba's been working on it for the past six years," Duke explained. "He's had teachers training, he's invented classes. This isn't going to be like an after-school activity, students will be _living_ there! Both Kaiba and I are trying to restructure the pro-league so that Duel Monsters won't just be a hobby, but an actual occupation. Money could be coming in from scheduled appearances rather then just fishing for tournament winnings."

"And you're actually considering this?" Mai inquired, rapidly thinking the idea was ludicrous.

Serenity caught the woman's attention with a wave. "Considered and finished Mai. The Duelist Academy campus in New York is finished and ready to accept its first wave of students next year for anyone over 16."

"Wait a minute," Joey noted suspiciously, finally putting the pieces together. "You want Peter to be a part of this new Duel Monsters School don't you?"

Duke rolled his eyes slightly. "It was her idea," he muttered under his breath, earning a minor look from Serenity. Clearing his throat, Devlin pressed on. "It's not that simple. We have an event planned next week as an application with some of the staff going to be hired. If Peter wins, he's open as an option."

"Peter doesn't duel anymore," Mai stated with a hint of finality. "And I can't believe you'd ask this of him after what that game did to him. He's been seeing support groups for five years you two, and I'm not going to see whatever progress he's made come undone."

Duke was obviously too excited by the possibility to take no for an answer. "Come on Mai, just think of what he could be learning here. Just think, if a school for dueling had been around when we were in our prime, you might not have ended up such a loser."

On reflex Joey pushed away from the table as Mai jumped to her feet. "What?" she challenged, her voice calm, but through heavily clenched teeth.

"Well, let's see," Duke began counting on his fingers. "Let's start with Duelist Kingdom. First you dueled Joey… and lost. Then you dueled Panik… and lost."

Joey looked for an opening to stop Duke's train of thought as he saw Mai's mouth go dangerously thin. As his wife listened, her hands instinctively clenched around the tablecloth.

Devlin was obviously not finished, "Then you not only lost, but surrendered to Tea. Yugi you surrendered to. You lost to Marik in the Battle City finals…"

_Not to mention Raphael,_ Joey admitted silently.

"Let's face it Mai," Duke finished. Mai was looking absolutely livid. "You are the worst, good duelist ever."

"**Oh yeah?!**" the "loser" in question thundered. "I say we duel right now, loser owes the winner the difference in life points in Yen." She thought for a moment before adding, "Tripled."

Joey winced. Mai had just released a successful fashion line, but if it was a shutout, that amount of money was quite a bit.

Serenity looked worried, but Duke just finished his drink and smiled. "You're on."

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Duke had to loan Mai a Duel Disk before taking the four to a large empty room with a checkered floor and wallpaper bearing different Dungeon Dice crests.

"We used to use it for minor tournaments, ones without holograms," Duke explained, startling a bit at the echo. "After the Duel Disk went mainstream, we moved the tables, and used it for a private room."

"Don't want the public to see you fall huh?" Mai bashed, remembering her opponent's first run-in with Yugi.

Duke ignored the remark switching on his disk and drawing his hand as the spouses watched from the sidelines.

"Duel!"

"I go first," Mai declared, obviously a little annoyed at the fact that Duke had mocked her skill, "and I start by setting two cards facedown, and summoning a monster facedown in defense mode."

Mai took her time, setting the cards carefully into place with a satisfied smile. "Your move hot-shot," she taunted, noting a surprised twitch as Duke drew his first card.

The reason for this was the stream of thoughts going through the Industrial Illusions owner's head.

_Where did this come from? I've never known Mai to start on the defensive in any duel. _Duke carefully looked at his hand, but caught himself panicking early for no reason. _There's only one reason a duelist would do something that out of character, and that's starting off with a lousy opening hand. That must be why she played so many facedown cards._

Duke eyed the cards in question with an accusing stare. _She might have started with some bad draws, but there's no reason to open myself up for an attack next turn. Attacking that defense monster won't do any damage anyway._

Deciding on a course of action, Duke made his first play of the game.

"I play a monster in defense mode," Duke began.

A sly wink crossed the female's eye as she heard the disk's electronic recognition.

"Sorry to disappoint you Hon," Mai coyly rebuked as one of her cards lifted to show its face, "but I had a plan set whether you attacked or defended. I play Shadow of Eyes."

A prism of warm colors, shaped into the form of a maiden, gestured her arm, beckoning to the hidden creature. Despite being pure energy, the creature still cast a shadow, and it was that shadow's touch that caused the card to rise.

The now uncovered form proved to be a rather battered looking skeleton wearing tattered robes, (then again does a skeleton wear any other kind?) and carrying a sword. Since a skeleton obviously has no muscles to hold itself up, it leaned rather heavily on a large headstone labeled with the number "13". (1200/900)

Duke winced slightly, causing an uncomfortable pressure from his gritting teeth. "That switches my Thirteenth Grave to attack mode."

"It certainly does," Mai agreed, taking a confident poise as the luminous maiden dispersed with a hint of perfume in the air. "And it's ripe for the picking next turn."

_Not if I have a way to protect it,_ Duke challenged from his mind. "In that case, I put this facedown and end my turn."

Mai scanned the set briefly, before drawing her next card. It didn't matter much though. She had what she wanted already on the field.

"My next card," she purred, reaching for her facedown monster, "is Harpie Lady, in attack mode."

The monster took a regal stance, arms crossed before her, as she raised her head, and causing her hair to billow up in unnerving ways before settling on her shoulders. The monster let out a battle cry, something between a chirp and a growl, as she threateningly brandished her claws. (1300/1400) Duke would have felt a bit more threatened if his attention wasn't drawn to the fact that Harpie Lady's entire upper body attire was a pair of well placed suspenders.

Serenity took a moment to blink before asking a question. "Wait a moment; shouldn't that monster have 1600 attack points?"

Joey answered with an understanding nod. "You're thinking of Harpie Lady 1, which is an effect monster that powers up Wind attribute monsters. I hate to break it to you, but Mai felt too connected with her cards to change them when the upgraded Harpie Ladies became the new fad."

Joey looked off in thought for a moment. "Mai has always preferred strengthening her normally weak monsters with Magic and Trap cards anyway, and besides, she plays fewer Wind monsters then she lets on. Nope, in that deck are three good-old traditional Harpie Ladies. Just the way Mai likes it."

Mai felt a bit of a blush overhearing the conversation, and took a moment to remember what exactly she was doing.

"I assume you know how this combo works. First Harpie Lady," she took a pair of cards from her hand, "then Elegant Egotist, followed by Cyber Shield."

The red-headed winged-beast raised her arms as she took to the sky. Her form briefly shimmered into a kaleidoscopic silhouette, the monster's own face reflected ten-thousand times in a bright rainbow of color.

Four beams of light split in separate directions from the dazzling source of light. The blast glowing green regained Harpie Lady's original form, positioned in preparation for a dive. The others, colored red, gold, and blue, each took the form of a far more menacing Harpie, each one of the three in brilliant metallic armor. Their combined cries, intensified by their sharp eyes made clear the true bloodthirsty nature of these avian women. (1950/2100)

As soon as they stabilized, a new change took place. Dark chains began forming links between the pieces of revealing armor. Dangerous looking spikes enhanced the Sisters' breastplates, and rims of dark armor became apparent around the edges of the three Harpies' natural attire.

To Duke it was an awe inspiring visual, but even a monster with 2450 attack points could fall prey to the trap he had hidden.

Mai let her euphoria die down a moment, as she looked suspiciously at Duke's monster. Mai had always been wary of Trap cards. Her cautiousness of them had saved her many times. (Although it cost her one particularly memorable match.) Deciding not to take her chances on a trap that might be triggered by an attack against a monster, she took yet another card from her hand.

"Next I play this," She declared, as a Magic card bearing the picture of a silver satellite dish surrounded by a blue starburst shimmered into play. "Reflect Energy, and once I send my Harpie Lady to the Graveyard, I can use its magic to let these three lovely ladies attack your life points directly."

Duke hovered over his facedown card, thinking for a moment about the cards in his hand. _This may be useful, but now Mai has only one monster. With The Thirteenth Grave safe, I can use it next round to destroy her Harpie Lady Sisters. That leaves my trap free to use in case she summons an even more powerful monster._

Harpie Lady took off behind Duke at frightening speed, before settling into position behind him, holding a silver looking glass.

Mai raised a finger to direct her attack as she called out to her monster. "Harpie Lady Sisters, combine your power and attack with Triangle Lightning!"

The three Sisters gathered spheres of energy in their claws, connecting their powers through a triangle of energy beams. With a cry, the threads crackled into bolts of electricity, which arced towards the silver mirror anchored behind Mai's unfortunate opponent.

For a moment, it looked like the mirror would hold, even though the Harpie holding it was quickly reduced to ash. As the mirror shattered, it sent the arc of electricity directly into Duke Devlin's back. The duelist cursed himself for looking over his shoulder, as a spasm from being hit caused an uncomfortable stretch in his neck.

Mai thoroughly enjoyed the sight of Duke's life points receding to 5550. After the click, she waved a casual hand telling Duke to take his turn without even uttering a word.

Duke drew his next card before beginning an already prepared move. The Thirteenth Grave vanished, being replaced by a black summoning portal, cackling with black lightning. A scent of ozone filled the room, as static discharges raced across a giant bony form, laced with formidable looking muscle tissue. (2500/1200)

Mai raised an eyebrow, almost bored. "Summoned Skull? Devlin, I'm going to ask point blank, are you running a deck of skeletons?"

"No!" Duke insisted, obviously caught off guard. He took another moment to think. "Although come to think of it, I do have plenty in here." It was perfectly clear to everyone that the company owner hadn't ever thought of it. Mai just watched with interest as the duelist recovered.

"And to correct your mistake, this monster is an upgraded version of Summoned Skull known as Skull Archfiend of Lightning, and I assure you it's more difficult to get rid of then its counterpart." Duke took the moment to gloat. "Especially since he's fifty points stronger then your Harpie Ladies."

A throaty growl ran softly around the room. To Joey it sounded a bit like a cat with a sore throat. The Harpies cried again. Though the sound was the same, there was no mistaking that this time it was in fear.

"Lightning Archfiend!" Duke declared, his eyes narrowing on his target. "Diabolic Power!"

With its demonic growl, the large monster executed an attack not unlike the familiar Lightning Strike. The only difference was that these bolts were black.

Mai's mouth curled into a smile. "Not this time Devlin." Her other hidden card rose with a gesture revealing… "Gravity Bind," the woman named. "And it negates all attacks from monsters whose star level is greater then three."

In the center of the field, an undulating sphere of energy pulsed once, before ejecting a net of green cords across the entire field. Both monsters fell helpless, trapped under the deceptively heavy weight of the netting.

_Sorry girls,_ Mai apologized, wincing, at the sight of her trapped friends.

Duke was obviously no more pleased then she was, but now realized what Mai had meant when she said it didn't matter if he attacked or defended. Taking another card from his hand, he carefully opened the Field slot on his disk.

"It looks like I'm out of options. But I can still play Pandemonium."

"Panda-wha?" Joey asked, confused. "Who knew Duke had a thing for Chinese animals?" Serenity was too embarrassed to answer.

"'Pandemonium', you dunce! The lair of ten-thousand demon lords?" Duke answered obviously annoyed by the need to explain yet another card to Joey.

The "dunce" in question waited for the field to appear before swallowing heavily. "Uh, yeah," Joey defended. "I knew that."

The arena the duelists were standing on rebuilt itself piece by piece, into a demonic burning gazebo set on a raised platform. At one point it may have been a domed rotunda, but now all that remained were the burning ruins, a crumbling dome supported with six pillars each decorated in the shape of a ferocious open-mouthed dragon and marked with the first six roman numerals.

Mai simply shrugged, taking the new arena in. After a duel against Marik, this was something she could live with.

"I draw," Mai declared, holding the card at arm's length, and promptly smiling when she saw what it was.

"I admire the scenery Devlin, but now I'm going to sweep it all away…"

_Just like I wanted you to,_ Duke congratulated himself, finger already positioned over a button on his duel disk.

"…with Harpie's Feather Duster!" Mai finished, as the card bearing a white feathered sweeper shimmered into being.

The three avian monsters let out a chirp of delight. The gravity in the room didn't let the monster take to the air. That did not prevent them from getting to their feet, backs to each other. Then the trio began to rotate at incredible speed, feathers releasing in a thin blue tornado, threatening to take out the entire field.

"Not today Valentine, I set up a special surprise just for you!"

Mai looked on in disbelief as a second brown tornado came down from above, engulfing her Harpie Sisters with a wind swarming the opposite direction. When it cleared, it was obvious that the half-bird siblings were more then a little surprised, as they kept double-taking quick looks at each other, trying to figure out what had occurred.

Mai looked over on Duke's side of the field, and it became obvious what had transpired. A brown mythical animal now hovered over Duke's left shoulder.

"Griffon Wing," Mai noted, with more then a hint of annoyance. It was a kind of an underhanded play on Duke's part, but she had to admit it was a legal one.

"Oh no!" Joey exclaimed, surprising Serenity slightly. "That means that all of Mai's cards go up in smoke!"

"True," Duke verified calmly, as his griffon shattered, Gravity Bind and Cyber Shield close behind. "I don't know if griffons ever ate harpies in mythology, but you have to admit, they're well equipped to do so."

Mai grit her teeth in a scowl. She really didn't want to do this, but right now she didn't have any other choice.

"I'm not out yet Duke. Cyber Shield may be gone, but there are other moves that I can make." She punctuated the statement, by setting another equip card into a slot on her Duel Disk. "I play Rose Whip!"

The central Harpie took the new weapon; a brown whip covered with dangerous looking thorns, and gave it a few lashes. The two other women backed away, as the whip landed with a few sharp cracks, rose pedals bursting from wherever it struck. The sisters' attack score regained some of its potency at a respectable 2250.

"The thorns on this whip can cut through anything," Mai advertised, "including solid stone. That monster's bone armor won't hold up to a single one of its lashes."

Duke looked on with narrowing eyes. It was obvious that Mai's confidence was shaken. She wasn't playing easy anymore, not when Mai was losing control. She didn't have to try very hard earlier, but now the woman was pouring in everything she had. Even though this was supposed to just be a friendly duel, Devlin had to admit he was impressed.

Mai swallowed hard, thinking about what she was about to do. For a moment she faltered. She loved her Harpie Ladies. Quickly Mai snapped herself out of her state of mind with a slight shock.

_That's exactly why I surrendered to Yugi, because I didn't want to see my Harpies destroyed. If I'm really going to prove that I'm not the pushover he says I was, than I need to make the necessary sacrifices to win. Just for this duel I need to go back to the old Mai Valentine, the one who needs no one but herself._

Swallowing again, and blinking the emotion out of her eyes. She targeted her frustration on her opponent now for leaving her no choice in her next move.

"My Harpie Lady Sisters are now three hundred attack points stronger, and I send them to attack Skull Archfiend of Lightning with Tri-Lightning Whiplash!"

"But it's not enough," Duke babbled, blinking for a moment to figure out what she had said. By the time he realized that activating his trap card might be a good idea, the battle had already gone through.

The red-headed Harpie Lady sent a crackling force through the studded whip. It left a rather hefty gash in the monster's plating, but it didn't do much else.

The undead archfiend would have smiled if it had the facial muscles to do so. Black lightning coursed through the whip, traveling through all three harpies before each of the three shattered in turn.

Duke watched, hoping for some sort of trick as his opponent's life points ticked down to 7750.

_I don't get it,_ Joey wondered, more then a little surprised. _Mai's never done anything like that in all of the time I've known her. As much as she loves to win, there's nothing that makes her happier then having a Harpie on the field. _ Joey let his emotion and worries cross onto the field without a word. _Mai,_ he pleaded to himself, _what are you doing?_

Even Duke was a little sympathetic as he let Mai take her time. She seemed to get over it in a hurry though, and a new fire burned in her eyes, as she appeared with a slightly sadistic grin.

"Congratulations Duke," Mai began, as she slipped her Harpie Lady Sisters and Rose Whip card into her graveyard pile. "You may have taken down my Harpies, but just like I did to Yugi, I'm going to vaporize your grungy old skull."

Duke looked on as Archfiend began to show far more bleeding scratched then he thought possible with a single whip. Each of them oozed smoking purple blood.

"Any monster that does battle with a Harpie Lady carrying the Rose Whip is instantly destroyed at the end of the damage step regardless of points." Mai made sure her opponent was paying close attention before she continued, returning to her somewhat playful demeanor.

"Maybe not," Duke challenged, as he pointed out the six dragon pillars around the arena, whose eyes were all glowing red now, "because whenever an Archfiend monster is targeted buy an effect, they have a chance to get off scott free. Oh, and just so you know this particular Archfiend has a 50/50 shot."

Mai held her breath and bit her lip a little, as one of the pillars, with the Roman numeral "II." Apparently that was the fifty percent in Mai's favor, as a blasting inferno from the dragon's mouth left the once proud Archfiend in ashes.

"Huh," Mai amused herself for a moment. "I seem to beat more Skulls that way." Joey remembered Mai's match with Yugi and smiled.

Duke huffed for a moment before taking his deck out of the slot.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Mai challenged. Duke looked up in surprise.

"My field card Mai. I don't have to pay for Archfiend monsters, but it also lets me search for an Archfiend of a lower level then an Archfiend destroyed by an effect."

Mai blinked for a moment. "Really?"

"Everyone always forgets that part," Serenity added with interest.

"It makes no difference to me," Mai concluded, taking another card from her hand. "Your Skull is gone, but here's something to let you reflect on the situation." The disk beeped as the new monster took the field. A floating orange robot, donned with the occasional spikes, a red cape, and various mirrors of all sizes. (1700/1000)

Serenity raised her eyebrows. "Reflect Bounder? Why would Mai play that card?"

"Easy," Joey fielded. "She's had a thing for mirrors from the beginning. Mirror Wall, Fairy's Hand Mirror, even Elegant Egotist to a degree. She obviously still has her Harpie Ladies, but Mai's enhanced them with a Mirror theme."

Serenity took the information with a smile. "So that's it," she returned. "More fitting then the Amazons at any rate."

"Yeah," Joey laughed. "You've got it right there. Mai's no Amazon that's for sure."

"And just what is that supposed to mean!" Mai thundered, glaring daggers at her partner in life. Joey found that a convenient moment to hide behind his sister.

_Oh boy is he going to get it,_ Mai confirmed to herself. "My turn's over Devlin, so let's see what else you've got."

Duke drew his card, adding it to the three that were already present and sighed. "Since you know I searched for an Archfiend, I might as well play it. Shadowknight, in attack mode."

Mai could now tell exactly how these monsters were related to Summoned Skull. The monster had the same bone armor (or was it an exoskeleton?) over sinewy tissue. These muscles however, were a sick blue, as was the fiend's hair. A red hot sword and a spiked gauntlet took the place of the monster's forearms. (2000/1600)

"And that's why I don't play Harpie Lady 1," Mai scoffed, noting the demon's attribute, and Duke motioned for her to move.

Mai drew silently, deep in thought as she looked at the card. "Nothing this time, just a facedown card, and I turn it back to you." The disk beeped in confirmation.

_She's using that Reflect Bounder as a shield, _Duke realized, drawing a new card. _It's dangerous to attack, but if I don't it'd give her more time to do whatever she's stalling for._ The card caught Duke's eye, and a twinkle crossed his expression. _But with this, why do I have to worry?_

"Get ready, because whatever you set for me isn't going to do any good." The lighting in the room dimmed slightly. "Not against the Terrorking Archfiend anyway."

The fiend appeared in a burst of sickly green light. His boney carapace arranged to form regal robes and a French crown. A scarlet cape emphasized his menacing movement, and the Demon King wielded a ridiculously large dark blue sword. (2000/1500)

"And guess what?" Duke asked Mai, not really expecting an answer. "This guy negates the effect of any monster he destroys in battle, so your reflect Bounder's effect is useless."

Joey, caught out of the loop again, looked to Serenity. "I swear," the sister replied, "most of the people we've come across only know about the Life Point payment, and the first effect of these guys. Duke bought these cards from a kid he felt sorry for at a tournament. Every time he dueled, he forgot that the Archfiends had a roulette effect. He eventually lost to an Exodia duelist after he attacked a Sangan with a Terrorking, and didn't realize the Sangan's effect didn't go off."

"I know what you mean," Joey replied, remembering the time he saw someone win by attacking with a Spirit Reaper that had mistakenly been controlled with a Snatch Steal.

"What did the kid get in the trade?"

"He wanted a deck based on a board game, so Duke gave him a set of Puppet chess piece monsters," Serenity replied.

Joey shrugged. "I haven't heard of them."

Ignoring the side talk, Mai had to chuckle for a moment. "Sorry to burst your bubble Hon, but my Reflect Bounder targets your monster when it's attacking, not when it's actually destroyed."

"Target's huh," Duke mused, as Mai realized her mistake, "then I guess I'll have to leave it up to Lady Luck again won't I? Terrorking Archfiend," Duke addressed, as the black ruler lifted his blade, "attack Reflect Bounder now, with Diabolic Judgment!"

Terrorking, spun his sword in his hands, forming a dark vortex. The fiend laughed as his portal brought forth a swarm of buzzing black locusts. The reflective monster tried to hold on, but a large blanketing stream of flame cut off the monster mid-struggle. Mai turned her face away from the blast, noting that the pillar was marked with a "V" as her life points dipped lower to 7450.

_Well, that's one thing less for me to avoid,_ Duke pondered in relief, _but I can't relax yet. My Shadowknight has less protection then the Terroking, and though the roulette worked this time it's not a guarantee. That's not a risk I can afford to take with her facedown card. Not for only one-thousand points of damage._

Mai drew her hand up to a full six cards, and gleefully put one in place. "I activate the Magic Card, Grave Arm. This rare beauty I won in Battle City, and the reason it's so rare is that it instantly sends any monster I choose directly to the Graveyard."

A card showing a demonic clawed hand reaching from a small hole in the ground rose in front of the dueling woman. Mai kept excellent care of her cards, but Duke was able to notice a small section of the corner where the cardstock was beginning to peel away from the holographic foil.

"Pretty darn slick huh?" Mai asked with a smile on her face. "And since you didn't attack me with tall, chivalrous, and ugly over there, I'd be willing to bet that he's not as well protected as his master."

"Unfortunately that's a bet you'd win," Duke slumped, feeling that he would be rather grateful if the next flame blast came from pillar number "III".

Whatever favored Duke's Terrorking obviously wasn't making encores. The intense heat erupted from dragon pillar number "VI".

Duke jumped when the dirt covered arm burst onto the field with amazing speed… from a whole positioned directly in front of Duke. Shadowknight Archfiend gave an almost pitiful squeal, before being dragged back and bulging in weird places as it was swept into the dark opening in the ground.

Duke had to take a step back. Hologram or not, that was a little too close for comfort. He also made a mental note to talk to Kaiba about replacing the Shadowknight's death cry with something other then a squealing piglet.

Mai took another set of three cards in her hand, and kept two of them convenient as she showed Duke the third. It featured a pair of hands carefully cradling a circular mirror, which was displayed in a bird-like frame.

"I play Beastly Mirror Ritual," Mai decreed, as a purple blob-like man covered with pulsing veins, and holding the mirror featured on the card rose menacingly in front of the woman, giving off a potent aura as it knelt.

Duke looked on expectantly, as Mai discarded another card from her hand, which he recognized as Harpie's Pet Dragon.

"My Magic card needs monsters that equal six stars or more, and I've obviously proven that I can do that, so now that the deed is done…" Mai took the blue bordered monster and set it into place, "… I summon my Fiend's Mirror in attack mode."

The spectral form of Harpie's Pet Dragon gave a quick roar before being absorbed into the body of the purple figure. The creature gave a lurch, before raising his mirror over his head, and shattering it on the ground. Hot blue flames filled everyone's vision for an instant, before they pulled back, seemingly being sucked backwards into a portal.

Now on the field was a blue and purple floating mirror, its handle molded into the shape of demonic wings and skulls. The mirror possessed seven single eyes at decorative points on its sharp features. The circular mirror at its center still shone with white hot blue light for a moment before cooling into a cold reflective surface. (2100/1800)

Mai kind of wished she could see the front of her monster; the thing she didn't like about dueling is that she never really got to see her own cards in action, from an observer's point of view, as much as she would have liked.

Deciding not to dwell on it, Mai picked up the two remaining cards in her hand, and set them facedown.

"That's it for this turn, but we'll see what I can do next round."

Duke kept his calm as he drew his next card. His entire demeanor was of a person who knew he wasn't in trouble yet. His commanding presence continued as the master of dice made his next move.

"I'll start my turn by activating Dangerous Machine Type-Six."

"Another dice card," Joey noted with a pinch of disgust. "His whole deck's full of them, and this one I know can be a real pain."

Duke looked at his next card with a look of considerable pride.

"That's a nice monster over there Mai, and I have to admit I like it, but now it's time to abandon this little chess game, and take this duel into my home turf."

Duke snatched his Pandemonium card from his field slot before setting something stronger into place.

The broken down stage let off an eerie spectrum of light before fading piece by piece. The chess board patterns on the floor remained, but the colors became much more playful. Electronic beeps that Serenity supposed were supposed to be music filled the room, and the arena became illuminated with a boyish blue light.

Mai did not like the look of this at all.

"The field I've just activated is called Dice Dungeon," Duke explained, letting his foot fall through a large blue holographic die at his feet. "With this card, every time any two monsters battle, their attack power will be altered by these dice. With a little luck on my side, my Terrorking will be able to plow right through your Fiend's Mirror."

Mai scoffed with a bit of indifference. "Big talk Devlin, but I don't see how you think this harebrained scheme of yours is going to do anything against my Fiend's Mirror."

"Then let's figure it out then shall we? Terrorking Archfiend, advance on the Die Board and prepare for battle."

The fiend leapt joyously into play, as Duke gave his holographic die a kick with his trademarked phrase: "Go, Dice Roll!"

Mai was not quite so enthusiastic. She gingerly brought her foot into contact with the large holographic red die at her feet. The hologram leapt up, acting like it was given much more force then it actually was, and the two clattered to reveal…

…two threes.

"Oh yeah!" Joey shouted, as Serenity took in a short breath. "When Dice Dungeon lands on a three, the attack points of the monster don't move an inch. Mai's Mirror can take down that rancid bag of bones without even trying."

"It wouldn't have mattered anyway," Mai assured the spectators, as one of her trap cards rose into play. Terrorking Archfiend was halted by a shining crystal barrier. Sending a punch against the reflective surface, the Archfiend cracked apart before finally being finished by a flash of blue fire, courtesy of Fiend's Mirror. Duke recoiled as his life points became considerably lower then Mai's, stopping at 4450.

"Smack into the Mirror Wall!" Joey celebrated. "Now that's what I'm talking about. Hey Devlin, looks like the so called loser is showing your demon army back to the barracks."

_I wonder if I can make him gamble himself into a dog suit again,_ Devlin wondered, only half serious.

"I had insurance," Duke assured the spectators as he took another card from his hand. It must have been a new one. It showed a dice in a plastic popping bubble on a game board, surrounded by a five sectioned spinner with numbers. Bright colored game pieces occupied a few spaces on the board.

"This is a Magic Card called Token Dice," Duke revealed. "And I can only play it when I have no monsters left on the field. Once I roll a die, I get a number of Dice Tokens equal to the number I roll. Sadly if I roll a six I get nothing but two thousand points of damage, but even with the bad luck I've had so far, I don't see that happening."

"I'll bet," Mai replied with more then a hint of sarcasm.

As the roll was revealed though, Duke felt compelled to rest his forehead in his palm. "Although I didn't ask for a one," the game designer complained.

A small red board game player piece spawned on Duke's playing field, looking rather pathetic all alone. (0/0)

"That's too bad," Mai responded. "I was kind of hoping for a higher number too, it would have been so much more fun to activate this Trap Card."

Duke instantly shifted his focus to the purple card bearing the image of a paneled mirror crowned with an unnerving eyeball. "Nightmare Tri-Mirror," Duke verified a little tense at this turn of events.

"That's right. I name a monster, and however many copies of that monster you have on the field, I get token copies of an equal amount. Since you have one monster named 'Dice Token,' I get one more Fiend's Mirror to come to my field."

A practical version of the looking glass pictured on the card rose into view, the eye setting its sights on Duke's token. An image of the game piece filled the left panel of the mirror, while Fiend's Mirror filled the right. From the center, a new Fiend's Mirror emerged, as if the glass was liquid silver. Once the trap's purpose was complete, it faded from view.

The game designer looked hard at the last card in his hand. It wasn't something that was extremely useful at this point. "I end my turn then."

"Than I draw," Mai began, "and I think I'll keep my Mirror Wall up for one more turn, just in case you actually manage to do something. You certainly haven't done much damage to me all game."

Duke's fist clenched so hard he threatened to bend the card he still held as female duelist's life points ticked down to 5450.

"And now that I have two monsters to your one, I'll prove that my token is better then yours. Copy Token, attack!"

Duke couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "I knew I'd get to use this eventually," the duelist smiled. "I activate the Trap Card, Sakuretsu Armor."

"Rats," Mai huffed, as her attacking mirror shattered with a ring of exploding metal and glass. "But thankfully, I still have a monster capable of attacking you."

The female duelist gestured to her original Fiend's Mirror. "Now to finish what I started. Fiend's Mirror, attack the Dice Token with Raven Dance."

Mai gave her holographic die a nudge again, though she didn't really see the point. It clattered a couple times before the top side settled, revealing five dots on the surface. Fiend's Mirror shuttered slightly as the fiend's attack power sank sharply to 1050.

_Great,_ Duke thought to himself, _the thing's attack power cuts in half when it means absolutely nothing._

A black shadow vaguely shaped as a bright blue predator faded into existence within the reflective surface of the mirror. The form burst through the frame as if no barrier for it existed, and for the creature that probably wasn't far from the truth. The fiery blue bird consumed the tiny defender, erasing it from existence before imploding with a slight poof.

The possessed looking glass went still as Mai ended her turn. The monster's attack points jumped back to their original levels.

"I draw," the game designer declared, pausing for a moment to make sure what he was expecting to happen indeed came to pass. He wasn't disappointed as a clunky looking contraption warped itself into the dueling arena.

"Since it's my turn again, the effect of my Dangerous Machine Type-6 that I played last turn activates, generating one of six random abilities every time it's my Standby Phase."

Joey looked on with familiar interest, and was quite surprised when the hologram appeared with more then a minor glitch. The hologram gave out an annoying ear-splitting whistle, and the visual representation was out of focus.

Duke instantly removed the card from the slot and groaned. "Just my luck to have a scratched card. Sorry everyone. What do I do now, should I just not play the thing or…"

"Just pitch it and keep dueling," Mai suggested. "You're sure to have a die on hand, and none of the effects need the disk to recognize it anyway right? We can keep playing as is."

Duke smiled weakly with appreciation, carefully taking off his earring. Joey let out a snicker despite himself. "I always wondered what his reason was for wearing that thing."

After he carefully detached a small red die from the piece of jewelry, the game designer carefully shook the small cube in his hand for a moment. "Go, Dice Roll," he yelled again, tossing the die to the sidelines where it ended up bouncing off Serenity's toe before stopping.

"It came up a three," Joey verified after inspecting the object carefully. "I don't know why I'm surprised, that's always what comes up on the first roll." The blond paused for a moment before seizing up in comprehension. "Oh no! That means that that Devlin gets a new card!"

"Observant aren't you?" the green eyed duelist retorted dryly as he drew his card. "Keep track of that earring will you Serenity?"

"Sure," the woman agreed with a smile.

"Thank you," the duelist concluded, focusing his attention back on Mai. "It's time for me to get back in the game. I summon Strike Ninja in attack mode."

A small pattering of feet crept into the room, as a figure clad in black, preformed an aerial summersault before landing at Duke's beck and call. Gold studded bands decorated the monster's midnight covering, and a crimson scarf trailed begins, billowing in a malevolent fashion. (1700/1200)

"I still love watching this guy run," Joey admitted gleefully.

Duke's eyes narrowed to the still upright trap card on Mai's side of the field. "Even with my dice rolls, it would be foolish of me to try and get past your Mirror Wall, so I'm ending my turn without declaring an attack."

"I'm impressed Devlin," Mai regarded coyly. "That puts you a step above Yugi. I'll tell you what, since you're so concerned, I'll destroy Mirror Wall this turn." She picked up the card as the crystal barricade shattered with a burst of beautiful sparkles. "Feel better?"

_Yeah right Mai,_ Devlin thought to himself, _act like you're in control, but we both know you couldn't afford to keep that Mirror Wall up another turn. I'm still the one with the advantage here._

Looking at her new card, Mai cracked an expression of satisfaction. "I'll replace my Mirror Wall with another card facedown," the woman began, her Duel Disk beeping in confirmation as the holographic card faded into view.

"Now I think it's time to reacquaint you with an old friend," she declared confidently as a new monster card slipped cleanly into place. The monster was familiar indeed, as a burst of feathers signaled another avian beauty's arrival. Her screech was no less forgiving, and her attire was no more decent. Mai locked eyes with her opponent with a more then satisfied expression. "Harpie Lady, return to the field." (1300/1400)

The monster settled her talons on the ground, taking her relaxed poise, complete with her winged arms crossed in front of her. A sadistic expression caught Duke's eye as the red-head let out a challenging screech.

"That ends my turn, but next round I'm going to give Harpie Lady something to really sink her claws into."

Duke drew, and gave a look of instruction to his wife. "Oh right," Serenity remembered, and quickly let the small round cube clatter to the floor. "It came up a two," the girl announced, as her husband groaned with his forehead in his hand. "I had so much more luck with the holograms."

"Tough break Duke," Mai returned. "A two would have forced me to lose a card from my hand, but as you can see…" the Harpie duelist presented both of her manicured nails, "…I'm all played out."

Deciding not to let the woman get the satisfaction of hearing him complain, Duke summoned his next monster to the field. "I play the Dark Assailant."

A sinister figure, clothed in green rose into Duke's control. Two crossed yellow blades were carried on the zombie's back, and throwing knives occupied space between each of its fingers. A skull was all that rested on the monster's shoulders, with an eye marked in red on the brow. (1200/1200)

Devlin admired the electronic field for a moment before giving the large holographic die at his feet a good swift kick. "Go, Dice Roll! And I send the Dark Assailant to attack Fiend's Mirror!"

Mai huffed with amusement as she crossed her arms comfortably. "Suit yourself Devlin, Go, Dice Roll."

Mai put some effort into her kick this time. As the two dice connected, Mai's expression tightened somewhat as her roll revealed another three. Duke had a bit more luck, his own roll revealing a two.

"Yes," the company owner pumped his fist in triumph. "Your monster's attack strength may not change, but my Dark Assailant's attack power rises by one thousand points."

The zombie let out an undead chuckle as the dungeon empowered its lackluster statistics to a respectable 2200.

"Dark Assailant," Devlin commanded as his zombie took a running start, "attack Fiend's Mirror with Psycho Sword."

As the monster attacked, Joey had to wonder why exactly the thing was carrying those throwing knives if it never intended to use them. The monster leapt into the air, and brought out both swords as it landed, splitting the looking glass into four reasonably even pieces. With more agility then anyone would have expected, the undead attacker sprang back and settled to admire his handiwork.

"You know," Mai addressed with a stone face as her life points shrank by a mere hundred, "breaking a mirror means seven years of bad luck, and with your reliance on gambling I'm not sure that's a risk you can afford to take."

Duke's mouth curled into a smile. "Care to find out? I still have my Strike Ninja willing to take the stage, and Harpie Lady is our leading lady." He paused for a moment before blasting the die that had reappeared by his feet with another aerial jaunt. "Lunging Claw Thrust!"

Mai was getting into it now. Her kick forced Serenity to do a double take. "I didn't know a person's leg could bend that far." Joey felt a surge of relief when his sister didn't peruse the subject.

Mai looked on in curiosity as her die stopped on the number four. "I don't think I've seen this one," the woman admitted, "what happens on a four?"

"A four switches the monster's attack points with their defense points," Duke explained. His jaw quickly clenched when his own die landed on the number one.

"I remember this one," Joey chimed in with excitement. "A one reduces the monster's attack power by a thousand. That makes Strike Ninja's attack power 700 to Harpie Lady's 1400 defense."

"Almost," Serenity replied confidently in an almost sing-song way.

"I activate Strike Ninja's special ability," the Dungeon Dice creator roared quickly as his monster vanished with a puff of smoke. Mai's monster quickly became incredibly irritated.

"Oh right," Joey supplied, putting the clues together. "In Dungeon Dice Monsters, Strike Ninja has the ability to dodge attacks."

"And this one does the same thing," Duke finished, holding up two cards, Skull Archfiend of Lightning, and Terrorking Archfiend, "by removing two DARK monsters in my graveyard from the game, Strike Ninja is safe until my turn ends. I guess that would make it right now wouldn't it?"

The dark smoke condensed into the poised ninja monster once more, and Mai drew a single card into her hand, one she had picked out from Dartz when he had given her the resources to upgrade her deck.

"I activate the Magic Card, Coins from Heaven."

"Meaning we each draw until we have six cards in our hand," Duke completed as both players replenished their hands. Mai looked on with wonder and quickly donned a cocky smirk.

"Get ready Devlin, because I'm about to let loose the strongest combo I've got."

_After drawing six cards in a single move, I don't doubt it,_ Duke worried. His hand was refreshed, but the benefit of using Coins from Heaven meant he wouldn't be able to use them until his next turn began.

The blond duelist held up a very familiar card with a stylized symbol for Egyptian life. "Monster Reborn resurrects any monster I choose, and the one I want is one I already have on the field."

"Your Harpie Lady?" Duke asked in surprise as Mai's disk restored her previously departed companion.

"That's right," Mai confirmed coolly as her favorite monster rose into the air with her arms stretched high over her head. "And that won't be that last friendly face you get to meet, after I activate my Spell Reproduction Magic Card."

The circular markings known to Duel Monsters players as the Spellbinding Circle shone brightly in front of Mai's field. A playing card spinning too violently fast to see radiated a painfully powerful glow from its center, before finally stopping revealing Monster Reborn.

"My Spell Reproduction may force me to discard two cards," Mai admitted, sending Triangle Ecstasy Spark and Elegant Egotist to her discard pile, "but for a card like Monster Reborn it's well worth the price." She made her intention clear as she played the recursion tool a second time. "Especially when the monster making a comeback is Harpie's Pet Dragon!"

Mai's hair billowed out behind her as her most formidable creature burst forth with a blast of intense heat. Like the dragon's masters, the beast's wings grew from its arms. Strength was apparent in every curve of the dragon's sinewy red hide. The dragon landed with a thump, its eyes staring into Duke's through a decorative metallic mask. The two Harpie Ladies present each took up a section of golden chain, but it was clear it didn't like being restrained. The beast let out a violent thunderous roar, causing sparks to dance uncontrolled from the Dragon's deadly mouth. (2600/2500)

Devlin swallowed hard, but Mai obviously wasn't through yet.

"Now to complete the set," Mai declared triumphantly, throwing another card into play, "my third Harpie Lady takes the field in attack position!" Another slight billow of feathers signaled the final member of the trio's arrival. The newest Harpie took up a section of chain and gazed lovingly at her adopted pet. The Dragon in question tensed slightly as its points rose to a dangerous 2900.

The very satisfied blonde waved for Duke to make his move. He wasn't surprised. She had just assembled a formidable team, she wasn't about to gamble the formation on a dice roll.

Duke drew, and he realized he was in more then a tough spot. The Harpie Ladies alone he could destroy without even blinking, but the moment he ended his turn he knew that dragon would be ready for a vengeful counterattack.

Serenity rolled her small die from the sidelines, acting for Duke's Dangerous Machine Type-6. "It's a four," she supplied, ad her brother next to her pumped a fist silently.

"That means I draw a card doesn't it," Mai interrupted, taking another card from a deck that was noticeably thinner then when the duel began.

"Yes," Duke relented, taking note of the cards he now held. _Wonderful, just great. I finally draw the perfect thing to deal with this situation, and the duelist I'm up against isn't stupid enough to fall for it._

Deciding to keep his main weapon in reserve, Duke settled for attacking in a way that was far more dangerous. "I activate Dimension Dice," Devlin declared, revealing a picture of a die unfolding around a barbarian clad in violet armor. "With Dice Dungeon on the field, I sacrifice my two monsters, Strike Ninja and Dark Assailant, to summon my favorite and most powerful monster, Orgoth the Relentless."

Despite using a Magic Card, Devlin's monsters vanished just as they would for any Tribute-Summon. The resulting Beast-Warrior was something like a cross between a knight and a Viking. His face was unseen under an elaborate helmet, but a face wasn't needed when a gigantic broadsword made the monster's emotions perfectly clear. (2500/2450)

_With her field stacked the way it is, I can't depend on Dice Dungeon. This may be an even bigger risk, but I have insurance if things don't go my way._

"I activate another Pandemonium Field card," the duelist announced, surprising the spectators. The dilapidated burning pavilion ripped Dice Dungeon from the ground, as the crippled rotunda supported on its dragon-like pillars returned as the field of battle.

"And then I summon Desrook Archfiend," the duelist declared, summoning another of the tribe. This one seemed more like an octopus made of bone, its eyes filled with fire as a deep breathing filled the room, as well as the scratch of its claws. (1100/1800)

"Next I activate, Graceful Dice, raising both of my monsters' attack power based on a roll of the dice."

"Another one of my cards!" Joey cried in outburst. "First the Machine and now this? What else is that deck packing?"

"Believe me," Duke joked, "If the choice wasn't so limited, I'd steer clear of anything you found useful." The toy-like angel looked very out of place in the current setting, and quickly tossed the large die it was holding before hurrying back to the card that brought it out. To the card player's delight, the result was a five, raising Orgoth's attack power all the way to 3000. The Archfiend gained an equal boost, but at 1600 it didn't seem as much of a threat.

"I'm in better shape then I thought," the die user celebrated, "Your Dragon's toast, and I can take down one of your Harpie Ladies to boot." Devlin's barbarian bellowed in delight as it raised the large blade high. "Orgoth the Relentless," Duke repeated the name he never seemed to tire of, "Diamond Blade Strike!"

Mai curled a smug grin. "Even diamond shatters when struck against itself Devlin," she boasted raising a trap card with the image of a worried frog trapped in a funhouse maze, "and my Mirror Trap is going to prove it, by activating a Trap Card from my Graveyard without even having to wait a turn to set it."

"But that means…" Duke stuttered, as his relentless barbarian struck his own reflection in a newly formed crystal wall.

"It means your monster's finished," Mai completed, as her Mirror Wall took its full effect. "Harpie's Pet Dragon, counterattack with Fearsome Fireblast!" The woman's hair billowed with a flourish as the muscular creature sent an inferno rushing from its jaws, incinerating the once powerful warrior, now only 1500 attack points strong.

Duke struggled to make his jaws meet as he watched his prize monster be destroyed within a turn, not to mention the fact that his life points were rapidly shrinking, now only 2950 strong.

"I set two cards then," the exasperated duelist concluded, "and end my turn at that." They shimmered into view, leaving only Desrook Archfiend as the duelist's protection, a thought that didn't exactly leave him comfortable.

Mai began her turn with a draw as usual before sparing a glance at her field. "With a card like this I hardly need Mirror Wall, so I'll destroy it." The shimmering barricade shattered in splendor for a second time, but it didn't make Mai's opponent feel any better about the situation.

"Let's see, I have four monsters in play right now, but I hardly need to risk my Harpies when I have this." Mai raised the magic card triumphantly, showing the image of a brown and red conjuring circle, a bird of flue flames in the middle, "Harpie Lady- Phoenix Formation."

All three predators of the sky rose majestically into an intricate pattern. Two clasped their hands side by side and spread their other arm at their sides. The third grabbed onto one leg talon of each of her sisters. They held this pose for a moment before their formation ignited into a blaze of ferocious blue.

Desrook Archfiend melted into slag with a pitiful groan. Duke shielded his face as the intense heat took a tool on his life points, the counter plummeting to 1850. Duke looked on with a scowl as he quickly found an Archfiend he could reach through Pandemonium.

"Oh yeah," Joey observed. "Mai's Harpie Ladies might not be able to attack this turn, but her Dragon's ready and reran to go. If this attack hits, it's all over." Serenity's face tightened with a bit of worry as the three bird hybrids delicately perched back on the ground.

"Looks like this game is mine Devlin," the blonde woman gloated slightly. "Dragon," Mai directed with a point of her finger, "win me the duel with Fearsome Fireblast!"

Duke rubbed the sting out of his eyes just in time to relish in his accomplishment. "I'm not out of this yet," Duke countered, raising one of the most famous and dangerous Trap cards in the game. "That is, unless your monsters have an immunity to Mirror Force."

"What?" Mai gaped, as the octagonal shield caught the blast of her dragon's fire, sending it back with a boom. All four flyers let out a screech of pain before shimmering and shattering, a sight that Mai was not altogether prepared for. "No!"

"That's incredible. Mai had the game won, but Duke was able to pull it around at the last second," Serenity described with wonder. "Yeah," her brother agreed. "He not only saved himself, but he got rid of Mai's entire attack force with just one card."

"Think she can still win?" Serenity asked. She was surprised when Joey shook his head slightly. "I'm not so sure. Mai's entire deck, not to mention her dueling spirit is centered on those Harpie Ladies, and now she doesn't even have a chance to draw another one. It'll be tough to recover from something like that. I know it would be for me."

For some reason, she didn't seem as distressed as Joey would have thought, just extremely angry. "I set one card facedown, and call it a turn. Enjoy your victory for now, but you'll be seeing my monsters again very soon."

_If that means what I think it means, oh boy is she in for an unpleasant surprise, _Duke chuckled to himself. Serenity once again filled in for Dangerous Machine Type-6, and announced that the number had come up a three. The duelist drew without complaint, immediately summoning his drawn monster.

"I summon Yaranzo," he stated simply, as an ugly dark ghoul situated in a treasure chest cackled as it took the field. (1300/1500)

"Sorry hot-shot, but you're not getting a free shot at my life points this time," Mai defended, revealing a new set card, one Duke had never seen her use before. The effect was instantaneous. Spotlights danced across the field, and the disk played a rather catchy entrance tune.

"My Trap Card is called Hysteric Party. I just discard one card…" the shiny foil of a Harpie Lady Sisters glittered against the dazzling spotlights, "… and give a warm welcome back for Harpie Ladies one, two, and three." As she announced, the three winged beasts faded out of the shadows, shouting their battle cry in a flash of golden sparkles.

"This is even better then I'd hoped!" Duke shouted ecstatically. "I activate my facedown card, Safecracker."

"Safecracker?" Mai repeated confused, noting the image of Cliff the Trap Remover hard at work, naturally, cracking a safe.

Duke nodded in confirmation, "Yep, it's a Trap Card that takes on the effect of any Trap Card that you've used throughout the entire duel." Duke discarded a Skull Dice card from his hand as the image on the Safecracker card began to shift. "And guess what Mai?" he continued with a grin. "I choose your Nightmare Tri-Mirror!"

"What?" Mai repeated thunderstruck, as the familiar three paneled looking glass appeared next to her opponent.

"This is not good," Joey added, not really helping the situation.

"You know what that means," Duke gloated as the mirrors went to work duplicating harmless looking treasure chests. "With three Harpie Ladies on your field, I get three more copies of… Yaranzo."

The lids of all three chests burst open as one, the original zombie joining as they chuckled and rubbed their hands together in perfect sync with each other, creating a rather disturbing visual. (1300/1500 x3)

Mai grit her teeth as she scrambled to find a way to counterattack.

"If I read the card right, my tokens can't attack the turn they're summoned," Duke told the spectators as he curled a strand of hair around one finger, "but the original is under no such restriction. Yaranzo, bring down Harpie Lady with Shadow Hoard."

The Harpie in the center let out a cry of surprise and hurriedly tried to get away as the monster shot out a hand, which expanded until the zombie had caught its prey. The Harpie's expression turned to terror, and she put up a valiant fight. Mai watched as the monster's face and hand were all that remained visible for a moment, before the bird-like creature was tugged violently into the box. The lid then closed around both creatures, and the chest stood still for a moment before bursting, leaving neither creature behind.

The remaining tokens burst into applause. The Harpie duelist couldn't wait to wipe the smirks off of their big, dumb faces.

"My turn," Mai confirmed, looking with a bit of apprehension at the card she had drawn, the perfect one for the situation in front of her. Showing the card's face to everyone, it was revealed as a ritual card, one that showed an intricate full length mirror containing the reflection of a blue crystal. The image was bathed in green light. "And I sacrifice my two remaining Harpie Ladies to activate my Orichalcum Mirror."

The remaining monsters of flesh and feathers joined clawed hands as they transformed into dark blue crystal. Rings of green light descended, encircling the statues, reshaping the statues into a single four foot tall crystal decorated with jeweled rings. Though there was little way to tell the difference, the horizontal position of Mai's ritual monster showed Duke Devlin that the monster was in defense mode. (0/0)

"After what happened to you guys, I'm surprised that Mai would even play a card like that," Serenity noted, a little worry in her voice.

Joey shrugged off the comment. "Pegasus may not have liked what happened, but even he can recognize a good card when he sees one. He even asked us permission before he approved it for release, but we all agreed that a card's just a card, and there's no reason to freak out about it. As for why Mai has one in her deck, I don't see why she wouldn't, but maybe it's to remind her of her friends."

Serenity accepted the statement with a nod, still taking all of the information in as her husband stared down her brother's wife.

"My second Ritual Monster is Mirror Knight Calling, and to make up for its nonexistent attack score, it summons a few friends to the party." A glare off the crystal's smooth sides gave off a reflection of four shiny figures dressed in full armor, complete with shields and swords. A split second blinding flash caused everyone to blink the spots out of their eyes before they realized that the knights were no longer reflections, but four of them were standing on Mai's front lines. (0/0 x4)

"And this is supposed to help you how?" Devlin questioned with a raised eyebrow, after a quick check to make sure his Yaranzo tokens were still in place. The chortling fiends didn't make themselves easily forgotten however, and it didn't take much more then a glance.

"These tokens are known as Mirror Knights," Mai revealed with a confident hand on her hip. "They may not look like much, but with Mirror Knight Calling on the field they gain the attack points of whatever monster they attack, and what's more they can't be destroyed in battle themselves."

Duke's emerald eyes widened considerably. "That means that I'll be defenseless after one attack."

"Bingo," the woman agreed with a smile on her face. "Mirror Knights attack the Yaranzo Tokens. Clear his field for my next attack."

Three of the reflective warriors charged straight in to the front lines, their attack powers rising to match Yaranzo perfectly. The laughing zombies were soon shredded, leaving Duke with an empty field, though no damage was inflicted.

"I'm done hot-shot," Mai finished with confidence, but a bead of sweat dripped down her face from behind her hair. _I may have bought some time. His next monster can only attack Mirror Knight Calling so my tokens are safe, but after that it comes down to whatever I can draw._ She checked a quick look at her deck, _and my cards are getting dangerously low._

Duke drew from his own deck as Serenity began her now familiar rolling of the small cube. Joey narrowed his eyes and let out a small groan as the result revealed a five.

"Well, it seems Lady Luck still has the hots for me," Duke chuckled, giving Serenity a small wink, causing a slight blush. "A five destroys one of your monsters on the field, and I'm targeting…" he directed with a point, "Mirror Knight Calling."

Mai's face tightened, but without the hologram to direct the effect, she simply took the card off of her board, ignoring the alerting beep from her disk as the hologram on her field glitches and faded with an annoying rush of static. Even Duke found himself hoping that he didn't roll a five again anytime soon.

"That leads to me playing Roll of Fate," the duelist declared, getting very tired throughout the duel's events. The die landed on a two, making Devlin's deck four cards thinner. Joey's eyebrow twitched again on the sidelines.

The dice user found himself very impressed as he placed a magic card on the field. "Now I activate my Summon Dice." Joey analyzed the picture, but he couldn't make anything out of it except a large white die falling into a hole in the ground. He wasn't sure that was what it was supposed to be, but that's what he saw.

"This takes a thousand life points," Duke half muttered as his counter ticked down to a very sparse 850, "but depending on the roll of the die, I set one of three effects, so Go, Dice Roll!" This hologram worked, catapulting the unremarkable white cube skyward.

_I hope this works,_ The die user caught himself praying, _because if that die lands on a five or a six I'm finished._ Luck was on his side however, as the hologram clattered to a stop with a single facing the ceiling.

"Awesome," the duelist rejoiced, causing a few gazes to snap back to him. "On a one, I can summon two monsters this turn instead of one, and these monsters are both one and the same. Go, Vilepawn Archfiend."

As both monsters were summoned, the only thing Mai could think of to describe them was that they looked identical to Duke's Shadowknight, except for the absence of hair. (1200/200 x2)

"And both of these monsters have the same ability, forcing them to be attacked first in place of any other Archfiend on the field."

"Oh man," Joey complained, "I pulled the same trick with Marauding Captains, now Mai can't attack either one of those monsters."

"Thanks, for the warning Joey," Mai returned, genuinely thankful, even as Duke was caught by surprise.

_Actually, the effect doesn't work like that. She has to attack a Vilepawn, but it doesn't matter which one. But if that's how she thinks it works, I'm not going to complain. It may not be sporting, but it may be the only thing that keeps me alive in this match._

"Vilepawn Archfiends, attack two of the Mirror Knight tokens with Diabolic Strike."

True to their name, the now defenseless tokens shattered like glass under the demonic blades, leaving Mai's life points to suffer full damage, and forcing them down to 2950.

Mai drew from her thinning deck and winced. "There's nothing I can do but switch my Mirror Knights to defense mode," she explained as her tokens fell to their knees.

"That's a good thing to hear," the slightly winded Duke Devlin panted as he drew. Serenity once again rolled her husband's small red die, causing Joey a sigh of relief when he saw the result. "Finally a six, which means that Duke's Dangerous Machine's been destroyed."

"Sorry," Serenity apologized, slipping the earring into her pocket.

"It's not your fault," Duke reassured her, summoning his newest card. "The King may be the most important piece on the board, but it's not the most powerful. I summon Infernalqueen Archfiend."

Mai was somewhat of an authority on female monsters, and she didn't feel that this thing had the right to call herself as such. A sick purple wrap covered the queen's arms, though a slit in the back gave room for boney wings. Her armor and tissue was similar to the rest of the Archfiends, though a different form of pointed crown rested on her locks of violet hair. (900/1500)

With nothing to hide behind, Mai braced herself for the assault she knew was coming. "Infernalqueen, attack Mirror Knight with Diabolic Favor. Vilepawn, follow her lead."

Apparently the idea of "favor" in a demonic society was vastly different from mortals. White hot sparks spring from the demonic lady's eyes as the token was reduced to ash in a burst of blinding light. Vilepawn was less showy, and proceeded to simply smash the Mirror Knight to pieces.

"Now Vilepawn," Duke concluded although there was really no need, "attack her life points directly, Diabolic Strike!"

The woman raised her duel disk as a shield, but what didn't stop the painful electric shock that crossed her arm. Mai shut her eyes tightly and winced, listening to the click of her life point counter, now registering 1750.

"Wow," Serenity observed. "Mai's been in control this whole time, but Duke managed to wrestle it away from her."

"Come on Mai!" Joey shouted in encouragement, unable to take the tension anymore. "You've got to fight back here!"

"I don't intend to lose Joey," the blonde retorted, both relieved and irked at the same time as she turned back to face Devlin. "I may be down, but I'm never out. Not this time."

She drew a card from a deck now less then ten cards tall, and looked at what she pulled in relief. _Finally, I might actually be able to use this card in my hand now._

"Devlin, it's time to show you that I earned more then I got in every single one of those tournaments, starting with this card, Pot of Avarice."

The dueling female looked at her graveyard before finally settling on three Harpie Ladies, Reflect Bounder, and Harpie's Pet Dragon, and shuffling the stack into what was left of her deck.

"I reshuffle five monsters, and draw two new cards," she finished, leaving a holographic vase to shatter with an annoyingly drawn out giggle. _Excellent, _she mused looking at her last two cards. "I set one monster in defense mode, and set one card facedown. Now what can you do about that?"

Duke slid a card from his wrist, looking at the orange bordered monster. _Hmm, good if I need it,_ His eyes slid back to the field, _but with what I have on the field, it's already over._

"There's something you overlooked," Duke boasted as his red queen began to give off a scarlet aura. "You may think that defender can hold me back, but my Infernalqueen Archfiend comes with a special ability to power up a monster by 1000 points every time my turn begins. Once I use it on her, no defender you have can stand up to 1900 attack points."

"You're almost right," Mai conceded, as a facedown card lifted showing a Cannon Soldier being his with a lightning bolt, "If it weren't for my Divine Wrath card, eliminating a monster as soon as you try to activate an effect. I just have to pitch one card." Mai slid the remaining Harpie Lady- Sparrow Formation into her graveyard.

"You're kidding!" Duke challenged in disbelief. "You know what happens when an Archfiend is targeted by an effect." The duelist's eyes skimmed every pillar around the room.

"Then so be it!" Mai countered refusing to give up. "Let's see where the fire lands this time."

Duke's eyes widened as he saw the flame burst from the dragon pillar labeled "IV", doing absolutely nothing to negate the effect, and watched as his Archfiend burst with a feral howl.

"Take your chances attacking if you want," Mai taunted, her stare keeping Devlin's face from moving, "but with only 1200 attack points, you aren't likely to take my monster down. It's only a matter of time before I get by your attack lock, and right now, that's the only thing keeping you safe."

_And not even that!_ Duke realized with a start, realizing that by all rights, he had already lost. He then concluded, "I end my turn."

_I have to keep my Vilepawns in attack mode. Her thinking that she can't attack is the only thing keeping me alive. Next turn I may have a chance, but I don't want to use something so risky. I just have to hold out for a better draw._

Serenity saw the look on her husband's face clear as day. He had already lost his spirit, giving in to that mental acceptance of defeat. Unless he drew something to spark his will back into action, Serenity realized that her husband had already lost.

"My move then," Mai began, on the opposite end of the scale from her opponent as she activated Pot of Greed, bringing her deck once again into the single digits. Everything in her eyes screamed victory, once she looked at her final draws. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon," the woman announced as Devlin looked on with increased dread as his field card vanished.

"Pandemonium negates payment for your Archfiend monsters right?" Mai inquired, though she only did so to force her opponent to admit it, "of course it does, and without it you'll only be able to afford to keep one of your monsters next turn. I may not be able to attack but next turn," her eyes narrowed into the eyes of a cat that had its lunch by the tail, "I finish you off."

Duke growled with more then a little frustration as he felt five hundred points leached from his score leaving the once pitiful number to an abysmal 350. One of the Vilepawns let out an ear-piercing wail of frustration before shattering to ribbons of demonic muscle. Mai set her final card facedown before passing control to Devlin.

Seeing no choice, Duke sighed as he looked at his Fairy Meteor Crush, and set the monster he had been reluctant to use. "I set one monster in defense mode and switch my Vilepawn to defense as well, before I pass my turn to you."

"Don't tell me all of that fire is gone already," Mai called over, a little concerned as she watched the lone demon soldier take a knee. "Devlin, I expect to fight people at their best, now give me a little courtesy."

"Do you think I like this?" Duke challenged. "I may be out, but I'm not going to degrade myself into surrender. We both know it's all over, so show a little respect yourself and finish me off so we don't have to go on with this any longer."

"All right cowboy," Mai relented with a smile. Now that that was over she could get back to the real game. "I'd say you earned it. Harpie Lady, in attack mode."

Her defending monster rose up again, but this time rather then the predatory gaze, this Harpie seemed to be having fun. Mai summoned another monster, also a familiar face. Reflect Bounder gave a small twirl before settling into a hovering position.

"Bounder, attack Vilepawn Archfiend with Prismatic Burst, and I send Harpie Lady to attack your defender."

The blast of focused light didn't agree with the Archfiend, to no one's surprise, but what Mai didn't expect was the goofy piece of pottery, bouncing a couple of yellow dice on its tongue. (200/300)

"Dice Jar," Mai deduced, honestly impressed, and a little sympathetic, "and it almost worked too, if it weren't for my Harpie's Feather Storm."

Devlin wasn't surprised, as his monster's potency was blown away in a gust of snow white feathers. He drew his one card, laughing to himself as he saw the Michizure he had drawn one round too late. Knowing a bluff wouldn't work, as well as the fact that he just wasn't in the mood to duel anymore, he gave a friendly smile of approval to his opponent.

Mai returned the gesture, looking at the Harpie's Pet Dragon in her hand. She briefly considered summoning it, but though better of it, letting a quick blast of light from Reflect Bounder send Duke's life points to the zero mark, ending the game with a closure they both were happy to live with.

"I hope you didn't forget," Mai gleefully reminded. "You owe me 5250 Yen."

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It was late into the night when Mai and Joey Wheeler returned home. Isabelle and Matthew both were sleeping soundly on the couple's bed.

Peter as passed out on the couch. Taishi had gone home, the two were not officially dating, but they were close enough to fall asleep cozily on the same couch.

Joey went to pick up Matthew, but stopped short, opening a drawer containing a couple boxes. Inside one of them was his old deck, most of the cards were shuffled and used and loved into destruction. He remembered the first time his Red-Eyes wouldn't register on a Duel Disk. It wasn't very pretty to look at, but Joey still kept the laminated remains.

He remembered the old shoebox where Peter kept what he had left of Duel Monsters cards, ones that he never got around to giving away.

Mai slipped her own deck into the ceramic jewelry box Joey had given her for a gift. On the lid was a pair of doves.

"Think we should tell him about the school?" Joey asked, trying to keep his voice down.

"Not right now," Mai answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But tell you what," she finished, as Joey began to carry Matthew back to his parents. "If he's interested," she gloated raising her winnings, "Devlin's paying for the deck upgrade."

_**Well, as it turns out Peter is interested, and the gang's all here in the next chapter, including a new face. But as usual, things are bound to get worse before they get better. Next Time: Frozen with Fear. See you there.**_


	2. Frozen with Fear

**Hello again. This chapter contains many cards used in the Anime that have not been released. Such is the nature of the deck theme I suppose. **

**The Phantom Dragon cards used in this chapter once had very credible information that they were going to be released, and their stats were released on several web-sites. They unfortunately proved to be a hoax (which is why they are so vaguely described) but I did not know this when I outlined the chapter. **

**Some forums still have the information on them if you are curious.**

**This chapter has some rough content, and a character with a rather tragic back-story. Necessary I'm afraid, and it makes the character more relatable.**

**I forgot last chapter to mention, that I obviously don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! If I did, GX would have a point.**

**I do however; have reason to keep the characters included to myself, unless of course, asked, but most people know that already.**

**I'm sure you all want the plot to get rolling, so here we go**

**Chapter Two: Frozen with Fear**

Isabelle, now seven years old, positioned herself in the most private corner she could find. The little girl had so many conflicting feelings about her brother. At some times, he could be the most caring and understanding person in the world to her, even if he did mostly keep to himself.

When it came to their parents though, it was a different story. In her life, she had never truly seen Peter embracing their affections. Sometimes, like now, it was an active verbal war.

"I told you, I'm not interested!" the Wheeler teen repeated, even though he hadn't been asked if he was.

Mai bit back a similar shout, and proceeded to take a deep breath. How a casual mention of the conversation at dinner the previous night half-an-hour ago had degenerated to this, she didn't have the patience to figure out.

Joey, once again calmly repeated to his boy the point he was trying to get across. "And I told you, you don't have to duel anyone. I only said we're planning to go to this thing because we don't see Duke and Serenity very often, and this school project is a big deal to them."

Peter countered with a venomous glare. "Why is there never anything in your life except Duel Monsters Dad? I've grown up with it on every commercial. I see kids get cards for every birthday. Well finally it's begun to die, and I can put it all behind me. It almost cost you your daughter."

"It almost took my life and soul on more then one occasion!" Isabelle heard her father shout back. "But for the love of everything, it's a card game Peter! That sick bastard in the sewer was responsible and you know it!"

"LIAR!" Peter shouted in more of a screech before walking out the door without even bothering to slam it.

Isabelle crept back into the room before hugging her mother in comfort. Looks of worry were quietly exchanged.

"You want me to go after him?" Joey asked exasperated, although he thought he already knew the answer.

"It won't do any more then the other times," Mai answered, though she clearly didn't like the fact. Peter wandering around aimlessly was not a common occurrence, but certainly not a rare one. "I just wish there was a way to get him back doing something for fun. He spent a little time on that electric guitar, but that's it."

"Don't forget the D.D.R. phase," Joey reminded. "I don't get it, I mean for a while he still loved the game."

Mai wanted to continue the conversation, but not within earshot of the little girl, comfortably resting her head on her lap with her eyes closed. Mai knew what had changed. Isabelle had gotten older, and Peter had discovered just how much he would have missed had he failed.

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Peter felt the coins in his pocket, making sure he had enough for two phone calls. Lost in thought, he punched the number into a pay phone that he had long since memorized. The phone rang twice before he heard the voice on the other side.

"Moshi Moshi," answered the voice o the other side. Peter was relieved that the person he wanted to talk to had answered the phone. He wasn't sure if he could have asked another person to pass the phone.

"Taishi, it's Peter. I hate to invite myself over like this, but do you have time to talk?"

"I just saw you last night," the girl answered, "If it's important, I can talk to you, but to tell you the truth, I feel like I'm hanging around you too much."

"It's important, please," Peter begged.

The voice on the other side paused, obviously sensing that the meeting would bring her mood down, and her day likely wouldn't recover.

"All right," she finally answered. "You sound like you need someone to talk to, but Peter, I can't take on all of your problems. You're lucky I'm not busy today."

"Understood, thank you," Peter smiled. "I'll be there, and we can go for a walk ok?" No answer came. Taishi had already hung up the phone.

Sighing, Peter thought of Derik as he fiddled with his other coin. Sighing, he picked up the phone and dialed another familiar number.

"Hello?"

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Taishi Chisaioh was Peter Wheeler's best friend, and in fact, one of his only. The circumstances of their meeting were unusual.

They had met in a child support group. Peter's parents had signed his up a few months after Battle City. It was all too obvious that Peter was having difficulty being responsible for the death of that man in the sewer.

Taishi was the last to share at that first meeting. She hadn't said much, but over the course of the meetings, he managed to piece the story together.

Taishi was the product of a one-night-stand, raised by a mother that was far too young to be responsible for a baby. Her mother's actions were never exactly inhibited.

Taishi's mother was rarely in a place to pull things together, and struggled to make ends meet even working two jobs.

Eventually she began selling herself, and later her daughter for money. Taishi was barely able to get the words out through tears as she told the group how her drunk mother watched her being used by a stranger, with two others waiting outside the door.

Desperate to change her situation, Taishi raided the garbage bins of every card shop nearby, making a Duel Monsters deck out of the cheap throwaways, sometimes even selling the thrown out cards back to the shop they had come from, making any money she could.

Eventually, Taishi was put in foster care, and her mother sent to rehabilitation, but not before the decisions had dramatically changed her life. Taishi was HIV positive.

Peter got through his story quickly, and Taishi, trained to listen through the support groups, let him finish his story. In fact, she didn't say her first word of the conversation until he had finished.

"I think you should go," her quiet voice rang with a finality that meant she wasn't going to change her mind. "I'm not asking you to duel, but I want you to be there… to watch me."

"You?" Peter repeated. It was meant as a question, but it came off more as a, "you're not important enough for me to pay attention to. He didn't look back to her, but Taishi pressed on.

"This is my chance to get out and do something, be somewhere. It's an opportunity that I'm going to take. Just be there in a few days ok? See if that friend of yours in going to show up. You've mentioned him, but I've never met him."

The fact that Derik was now the focus of the conversation threw Peter for a loop. He had been so eager to talk and vent to his old friend, he hadn't thought of the possibility to meat face to face. He tried his best smile, his eyes scanning Taishi's hair again before forcing himself to focus on her green eyes for a moment. It was times like this he wondered why he wasn't dating her.

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The conversation hadn't lasted long after that. Peter was so focused on getting out his own thoughts; he really didn't take in much else.

The next few days were pretty much a blur. The day the entrance ceremony arrived, he didn't even remember what day it was.

Peter made sure he had his personal game system along, as well as the most challenging game he owned. His mind was lost in a maelstrom of thought, and his face was constantly tight, though he did find Taishi and wish her good luck. He even helped her secure her Duel Disk to her arm.

After his family had made it to the upper decks, he found a plastic chair to lose himself in. Peter drowned out most of the conversation, only catching bits and pieces.

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"I have to give it to you Kaiba," Joey stated impressed, "You certainly know how to pick the spots."

The windows overlooked a massive room, about the size of two or three gymnasiums. So large in fact, that there were four sets of sliding fire doors to contain any blaze that erupted. Five dueling stations were set up with various staff members. Kaiba couldn't help but feel disappointed, only about a hundred students even showed up.

"Yes," the man's familiar gruff voice rang with obvious disappointment. "My best duelist had a schedule conflict. I actually hired him because he was so close to starting some kind of duel dojo, and I couldn't have the competition. These are bottom tier of my staff, though they're still good enough to weed out the dropouts, the Italian in particular."

"Is that a man?" asked an honestly unsure Mai.

"Excuse me," rang a voice in clear English, "am I interrupting anything?" Peter looked up from his game in surprise.

Duke took a moment to compose himself. "Guys, this is Maikeru Itai, the most notable dueling name in America."

At that, Peter took the opportunity to pause his game. To him he didn't look like an American champion, his face was obviously of Asian ancestry, as was his name. His hair was neatly combed, and he wore quite casual clothes. He seemed almost overwhelmed and nervous to be here.

Mai and Joey both wondered what it was about this guy that made Duke and Kaiba so extremely nervous.

"No," Kaiba replied amused, you're just in time. We'll get your exhibition match under way as soo…"

Kaiba was cut off as water began to rain from the sprinklers overhead. On the floor downstairs, screams of surprise were heard as water poured onto the floor. The fire doors activated immediately, closing the room into five small strips. Security shielding also covered the window in the box, blocking the view within seconds.

"What's going on?" Duke sputtered.

"I don't know," Kaiba replied calmly, but firmly, switching on an intercom installed in a desk. "Find the joker, and get me a report of what's going on down there. Someone's just made a mistake."

"It's no good," Mai observed, "the light's not turning on."

"Well, at least we have a view of the action," Maikeru noted, trying to keep calm. "We have a video feed of someone dueling."

Peter looked up at the video screen for a moment. His mother spoke his thought out loud.

"It's Taishi."

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Taishi was just about ready to duel when the sprinklers had been turned on overhead. Her opponent was wearing a stunning blue, complete with elbow length rubber gloves, and a mask covering half her face.

"Attention Duelist," she smiled sweetly, introducing herself. "I go by the name Skadi. Shame that this happened just now isn't it? We can continue dueling if you wish, there's nothing better to do."

Taishi looked, noting that the retractable walls had completely shut her in with her opponent. Not seeing any reason to be bored, she agreed. This would still be an entrance exam anyway.

"I accept. My name is Taishi Chisaioh, by the way. Do you mind if I go first?" she inquired, drawing her opening hand.

"Not at all," the woman in blue responded, and the duel was underway.

Taishi began, thankful that the Duel Disks were manufactured with being caught in the rain in mind. The inexperienced duelist prayed that her cards would not be warped beyond repair.

_Well, this one is no good in the early game anyway,_ Taishi observed, planning a combo for later. "I set one monster in defense mode, and set another two cards facedown." True to her word, the facedown cards appeared in holographic form, regardless of the damp room.

The woman in blue drew her hand up to six, and even behind her mask, she was obviously displeased at what she saw. "I also set a monster in defense mode," she stated. Unknown to Taishi it was the only one she had.

_Lovely,_ the black haired girl complained, _my perfect chance to get an early lead, and she has to set a monster in defense._

"I also set one hidden card," the opponent finished, "and end my turn."

"This is going nowhere," Taishi observed, tense about the fact that the match could take awhile in such uncomfortable conditions. She drew another card into her hand, and her face tightened in frustration. "Go," she relented. The word was more spat then spoken.

The woman in blue drew her next card, thankful for the new insurance if things didn't go her way.

"I summon Blizzard Dragon to deal with your defender."

Taishi squinted with curiosity as well as suspicion. "What the heck is a Blizzard Dragon?"

Apparently Blizzard Dragon was a rather young looking blue dragon with a cream colored belly. Other then the leathery bat-like wings attached to the creature's forearms, the creature was perfectly smooth, giving it a shiny slick appearance. The monster's red stony eyes stood out against the creature's squat face. (1800/1000)

Taishi was tempted to spare the monster, just because she hadn't seen it before, but strategy won over fascination, and she triggered her facedown trap.

"Well, I hope this works," Taishi muttered, cautious of the fact that a new monster could easily have an immunity she didn't know about. "I activate Torrential Tribute. Since you summoned a new monster, both our fields are wiped clean."

"I know what it does Miss Chisaioh. Remember I am far from a beginner." The woman watched closely, wishing she had flipped up her Nightmare Penguin face-up first, but how was she to know she would never get the chance? On Taishi's field, the monster's identity was not clear. It just seemed to be a mess of large bones in a purple shroud.

Taishi shrugged. "It's just common courtesy in this game to keep the opponent informed. Remember, you can't summon another monster this turn, so I'll…"

"Just because I don't have a monster doesn't mean I'm done," the woman reminded calmly. "I happen to have a pet peeve for impatience."

Taishi tensed, a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry, that was my mistake. Most people really can't do anything else."

"It's all right," the blue clothed opponent reassured with genuine politeness, as she took another card from her hand. "I activate Ice Age Panic." The card rose, revealing a giant beam of blue light bursting into the sky from a frozen wasteland.

"Another one I don't know," Taishi sighed. "Then again, I've only dueled the same three people every tournament. Fiends, Zombies, and Amazons I know, but would you mind filling me in?"

"Of course," returned the woman with a friendly smile. "You mentioned Zombies, so I assume you know about Call of the Mummy?"

"That I do know," Taishi answered, longing to know more.

Skadi nodded. "This card isn't continuous, but it's similar. When I have no monsters on my side of the field, I can Special Summon an EARTH attribute monster from my deck to the field."

Taishi swallowed a bit as she took in the information. The young woman was slightly surprised by the choice of monster that burst from the floor in a shower of holographic ice.

The monster was obviously feminine, the skintight orchid colored outfit made that perfectly clear. Some unusual characteristics included the complete lack of hair, a mask covering most of the figure's face, a large gold hoop earring, a section of pleated skirt, and large elegant blades on the monster's feet and arms. (1400/1500)

Blade Skater Taishi recognized. It was commonplace in the trash she constructed her deck from. She never quite understood if her designer had run out of time to finish her outfit, or if she was supposed to look that way.

"Interesting choice," Taishi noted, "but why that one? If you could summon any EARTH monster, then why not pick a powerhouse?"

"Truth be told, I don't play many EARTH monsters," Skadi confessed. "But when they come from the deck, it doesn't matter how many I have when Ice Age Panic searches them out for me. Besides, since Blade Skater is a Warrior type monster, I can protect her from another trap by activating Snowfall Sword."

Taking the place where Ice Age Panic had previously been, a continuous Magic card bearing the picture of a bulky curved blade bearing a kanji symbol settled onto the field.

"As long as I have a Warrior on the field, any targeting Magic and Trap effects against Warrior type monsters are negated. So now that the way is paved, Blade Skater will attack your life points directly with Accel Slicer."

Taishi braced herself for the attack. The hologram glided over with grace and beauty, leaving a dazzling trail of sparkles in her wake. She then went into a spin that would have made Olympic judges proud. That is, if Taishi would have been far enough away to avoid them making contact.

As Taishi's life points dropped to 6600, the girl then felt a jolt to her right arm, causing the limb to go numb. Half the wind in her lungs left her, and her eyes widened in surprise, as she caught on to her situation.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Oh my God," Duke whispered, seeing the footage. Kaiba's skin paled to a shade not unlike concrete.

"What's the matter?" Maikeru asked confused.

Mai and Joey leaned closer to the screen as Kaiba pointed to the image. A pinch of distaste crossed his face when he realized he couldn't simply pause and enhance the image. His finger revealed a loose black wire on the underside of Taushi's duel disk.

"It's the safety," Duke added grimly. "The physical sensations of taking damage are caused by filtering electrical impulses into the nerves of the wearer's arm. Obviously we have a computer that reads the type and severity of damage to stimulate the right nerves. The link to that computer's been cut."

Peter looked up from his game, losing his first life, causing a tragic bar of music to play.

"Those batteries almost last forever! "Joey exclaimed as Mai let out a small gasp.

"The batteries also power the holograms," Kaiba added, and we all know what kind of power is behind those. I can't contact the staff from here, I only hope that they get that door open in time."

He turned with a hopelessness that no one in the room had ever seen since Kaiba had lost to Pegasus himself. "I may enjoy pushing people's limits, but I will not see that girl being reported dead on tonight's news."

0000000

Skadi ended her turn with a hand of two, and a sinking feeling started to take hold in Taishi's heart. She now knew the reason behind Skadi's rubber gloves and boots. The situation she was in was no accident. It was planned, and Skadi was far more dangerous then she let on. Deciding that calling her out would be the worst thing she could do, Taishi decided to continue the game as if nothing was wrong. It wasn't as if she could get out of the room anyway. Taishi would just have to keep a closer eye on her opponent.

"Is something wrong?" Skadi inquired in a voice so gentle few would believe it false.

"No, nothing," Taishi responded, taking a bit too much time to be believable. Skadi didn't appear to notice.

_Well, this will help at least,_ "I activate Emergency Provisions, sacrificing my facedown card to gain one thousand life points."

The facedown card in question became a large Saltine cracker, which crumbled into a small wicker basket previously not in play.

As Taishi felt her life points rise to 7600, the top of the wicker basket flew off to reveal something that was definitely not cracker crumbs. That was all Skadi could tell however, as the offensive party vanished before Skadi could get a good look.

"I didn't quite get that, what just happened?"

"Oh, forgive my friends' polite intrusion, they always just seem to show up," Taishi answered, showing a full hand of what was now seven cards. "The card I sacrificed was Ojamagic. When it's sent to the Graveyard, Ojama Green, Ojama Yellow, and Ojama Black are pulled from my deck to my hand."

Taishi always seemed to be in a good mood whenever she used the Ojamas. They never failed to make her laugh. Taishi almost forgot the purpose in her move was to restore her life points. While it didn't do much to stop the throbbing in her arm, her spirits were better off then before.

"Now I set another monster in defense mode," Taishi confirmed, "and another card facedown to end my turn."

Skadi drew up to three, a bit shorter then Taishi's five, but took the circumstances in stride.

"I summon Cyber Valkyrie in attack mode."

Skadi's newest monster was again a woman, dressed in slightly futuristic blue clothing, including a pleated skirt. The outfit was arctic blue, and was accentuated with metal wristbands and a visor over her eyes, bringing out her snow white hair. (1300/1500)

Skadi sent back a friendly smile, causing Taishi to try not to look any different then she had been. "She's a Warrior too, just to let you know." The woman in blue addressed, making Taishi once again take Snowfall Sword into account.

"Now as an enhancement," Skadi began, revealing a card with a transparent blade surrounded by a spiral of water. At the top of the column, the water took a form reminiscent of the face of an emperor penguin, "this is a card called Penguin Sword. It's the WATER version of Salamandra, or Shine Castle, raising the attack power of Cyber Valkyrie by seven hundred points."

Taishi kept surprisingly calm throughout the whole process, even as the blue warrior gave the clear weapon a few test swings, leaving a clear ring in the air.

"Now I send Cyber Valkyrie to attack your facedown monster," Skadi explained, causing her newest monster to begin to form an orb of energy in her left hand while keeping the sword at ready in her right.

Taishi responded coolly, activating a face-down card on her Disk. "Well, this combo should prove I can handle being a Duelist Academy student. I activate DNA Surgery."

The Trap card lifted, and Skadi's eyes narrowed considerably behind her mask. She didn't know what the young woman was up to, but she knew she was about to be in trouble.

"Insects or Machines?" Skadi asked, the politeness in her voice taking a hit.

Taishi giggled. "Neither. I always call either Fairies or Fiends. This time it's the latter."

Skadi expected the change in her monsters to be a dramatic restructuring until they were barely recognizable. In a moment she wished that it was the case.

Blade Skater doubled over backwards and began crab walking on her pointed blades. Her eyes went white, and the mask that covered her mouth became stained dark red.

Cyber Valkyrie's neck snapped audibly, and she soon faced Taishi with her chin aligned with her spine. Green slime began to dribble from the monster's mouth.

Taishi knew that this was one of her most effective strategies, but she had always played tabletop duels in the past.

0000000

Outside the barricaded room, workers were already trying to get through to Taishi's prison, and having very little luck.

"Damn," one of them cursed, exasperated. "Some kind of water activated glue's keeping the door shut, we're going to have to try and get through the darn wall."

One of the other guests watched carefully, working thinking of a way out of the situation.

He ran his fingers through his dark hair in thought, pushing one of the yellow bangs away from his eyes.

"Excuse me," he addressed, though not catching anyone's attention.

"There's no way in," one of the worker's replied. "We don't have any explosives or blowtorches in here to get through a firewall."

"Excuse me," the young man repeated, not having much better luck.

_I bet my dad never had this type of problem, _he sighed to himself, _I bet the people in there are fine. I just wish they'd turn down the air conditioning. _ It was beyond him why anyone would turn the cooling systems on high when everyone was already wet and cold to begin with.

0000000

Skadi finally understood the maneuver when she found out exactly what monster she was attacking. Still holding the sword, Cyber Valkyrie shot a chilled orb of blue energy, revealing her target as a green child-like creature wearing the red robes and crown of a French king. (3000/3000) It was a creature Skadi had faced before.

"Goblin King gains one thousand attack and defense points from every Fiend on the field, and I count three."

To add insult to injury, as Skadi's life points lowered to 7000, she disdainfully sent her Snowfall Sword to the Graveyard. It could only be maintained as long as she had a Warrior in play, and right now she obviously didn't.

"I set another card face-down then," The woman completed, remembering her act, "and end my turn. Congratulations Taishi that was quite an impressive combination you just used."

_No card?_ Taishi noticed, relaxing considerably. _I must be doing better then I thought._

Drawing up to six cards, Taishi tensed up more then relaxed. _This could be just what I need, but if it doesn't work… well, I'm better off at least trying. It's just as likely to fail later then now, so if I'm going to be I trouble, at least now I have some solid advantage with my Goblin King._

"I activate the ability of King of the Swamp to discard it from my hand to the Graveyard, and add a Polymerization card to my hand."

_Oh great, _Skadi slumped, knowing full well what the girl held in her hand.

Meeting the woman's expectations, Taishi activated the product of her recent search. "Now, I fuse the three Ojama monsters in my hand, and summon Ojama King in Defense Mode."

The three intruding monsters vanished into their portal with all manner of annoying noises following them through. Why a king of anything would use attire composed of a green sheet for a cape and two pairs of red underwear, Taishi would never understand. The monster was best described as a giant egg with eyestalks, a large nose, and a grin that made the Pot of Greed look trustable. The crown would have brought a minute level of respect had it not been made of paper. (0/3000)

Taishi held her breath to see what effect DNA Surgery had on her Ojama King, but to her surprise, nothing physical changed. The large being simply mumbled the same repeated phrase over and over.

"One, two three, four five, six… one, two, three, four, five, six…"

"Weird," Taishi muttered, though she noted that the monster must indeed be a Fiend because her Goblin King's attack and defense power had grown to four thousand apiece, and at the moment that was all that mattered.

"I switch Goblin King into attack mode," Taishi commanded, "and attack Cyber Valkyrie with Red Stone Thumb."

The childish monarch rose to his feet, a grin of enjoyment on his green baby-like face. Menacingly, he held up his right thumb, which was giving off a crimson aura, intent on using its touch to turn his target to stone.

"Activate Crystal Seal," interrupted the masked woman, revealing a Trap Card bearing the picture of a woman trapped within a prison of purple shards.

Taishi suddenly noticed just how much the temperature had changed. Even though she was almost completely dry, she began to shift uncomfortably, and she began to notice her breath just barely visible.

Taishi's Goblin King charged forward, blindly entering a newly formed cloud of swirling snow. Icicles formed on his limbs and clothing, and his skin changed from healthy green to a rotten looking gray. The fiendish ruler stopped cold in every sense of the phrase, now entirely cocooned in a solid structure of ice, mere inches away from striking the Cyber Valkyrie down.

"Nice effect," Taishi mumbled, obviously impressed in the hologram. "I take it this thing is an equipping Trap that makes my monster unable to attack right?"

"Correct," the woman in blue confirmed.

Taishi pressed further. "So what makes it any different from a Spellbinding Circle?"

"Well for starters, not only then your monster not attack, it can't be sacrificed for any reason."

_At least I can still switch modes,_ Taishi noted, filing the information away, _most of these sealer traps don't leave that option. _Not for the first time, Taishi found herself wishing that Duel Monsters cards had their effects written directly on them instead of having to search online or through instruction manuals. "Is that all?"

"Well no," Skadi confessed. "Right now, the Crystal Seal's structure is meant to imprison your monster precisely as it is right now. Any change will shatter that delicate design, meaning that if you can get the attack power of your monster to change, the prison will shatter."

Taishi was now very confused. Given the current situation, Skadi obviously knew that she couldn't rely on Goblin King's attack power being stable for long. Still, there was nothing more that she could do this turn, and with that she passed control to Skadi.

"I'm curious," Skadi asked with interest drawing into an empty hand. "Why didn't you decide to seal off any of my monster zones?"

Taishi immediately groaned. She didn't summon Ojama King every duel, but he definitely appeared enough that his effect should be instinctual. The moment Taishi had changed the position of her Goblin King, the timing was gone. The young woman was beginning to miss the far less distracting tabletop duels she was used to. "Just missed the timing I guess," she admitted sheepishly.

"Ok," the confused opponent replied, the word sounding more like a question then a confirmation. "Well then I activate this," the woman in a mask explained, showing a Magic Card showing a Duel Monsters card being swept away by a river. "Treasured Cards of the Flow lets me draw two cards from my deck," she explained, taking her extra draws. Skadi immediately activated another card from her hand with a speed that made Taishi more then a little nervous.

"Next I play Precious Cards from Beyond lets me draw two more cards whenever I tribute summon a level seven or higher monster, like the one I'm about to play."

Blade Skater and Cyber Valkyrie vanished from the field along with the Penguin Sword. What arose was a monster Taishi had never seen, and she got the sinking sensation that few people ever had.

Skadi's monster was obviously a dragon, and a fairly small one compared to the majority of dragons in the game. Taishi just wished she could see it more clearly through large gusts of blue snow. Crystals lined the monster's numerous scales, and rather then the glowing eyes of most dragons, this one possessed clear crystalline orbs. (3200/2500)

The blue snowstorm obscuring the monster didn't frighten Taishi at all. What she feared about the monster was the part that she could see, the monster's stats, and they were the thing that mattered.

"Since you changed the number of Fiends on the field, my Goblin King's attack power changes," the young woman reminded her opponent. The Crystal Seal card shattered into a dazzling shower of ice, causing the prison to follow suit.

Skadi smiled gently, letting out a small laugh. "Miss Chisaioh, I know that. My main motivation for Crystal Seal was to be able to activate this other Trap Card." The facedown card on her field lifted at her command. "With Crystal Seal destroyed, Driving Snow can now destroy one of your cards, DNA Surgery to be precise."

"Wonderful," Taishi remarked dryly, as the key to her strategy was blasted into digital dust.

**0000000**

"Come on, my Dad pays you guys to think, and you can't even open a darn door?"

The boy who had been pondering would never forget that voice. "Isis?"

"Derik?" the girl turned in surprise. Immediately he blushed and took an interest in his shoes. The dousing of the sprinklers definitely had an effect on Derik's neckline.

"I wish we could see each other under better circumstances," Isis admitted, "but we need to get out of here."

"I know," Derik admitted, though he still took a moment to gaze. Isis had taken time to grow her hair out over the years, and though thick, it kept a professional shine. She wore a fancy white blouse with the top buttons casually open, and a knee length black skirt. Derik knew the dress was casual, but he couldn't help but notice his lack of collar.

"Grr," Isis grunted, once again making Derik feel quite ignored. Attempting to bring back conversation, Derik coughed to get her attention.

"Um, so, how's Dueling been for you lately?"

"Now's not the time," she retorted, not interested in being bothered. "Aside from being a fire hazard, we're all miserable. I haven't been this wet since I faced that Water Dragon on the simulator."

"Water," Derik restated, knowing that was the very cause of their problems to begin with. Suddenly a light clicked on.

"Isis," he pleaded, "this place is a gymnasium right?"

"Yeah," the girl answered with interest, "why?"

Derik grinned. "I might have an idea."

**0000000**

"So, getting back to the monster," Taishi prodded, ignoring the cooling systems on her Duel Disk giving her goosebumps, "what exactly is that thing?"

Skadi waited to pull two cards from her deck before answering. "Phantom Dragon Blue-Ice. There are actually four types of Phantom Dragons, this one happens to be the strongest."

"Couldn't you have worked your way up through the theme and saved the powerhouse for last?" Taishi wondered. She was only half serious of course, when a duelist got a chance to use something powerful, they played it.

"Wishful thinking I'm afraid," Skadi chuckled, "but I'll try to use more of them later if you like." Taishi didn't respond as the woman in blue carefully scoped out the field. Goblin King was now a pitiful 1000 points strong and was an easy target, but Ojama King was far more difficult to get rid of.

"Phantom Dragon," Skadi addressed. The large blue monster actually tilted its head in response. "Attack Ojama King with Cerulean Permafrost."

The effect was instantaneous. A flurry of snowflakes colored in every pigment of blue rose in a battering wall. Through the hologram, Taishi observed her Ojama King flash-freezing, right down to a drip running out of his nose. Instead of shattering all at once, the battering storm broke the monster apart like sand, eroding until there was nothing left but a large impression in the holographic ice.

Taishi's mind raced to comprehend how much her dangerously charged Duel Disk would shock her should she be attacked directly.

Skadi smiled, still giving off the feeling of a friendly match, as she set another card into her Duel Disk.

"Before I end my turn, I have a choice to make. My Treasured Cards of the Flow comes with a price. I opened the floodgates, so I can either close them by using one of my cards to block the way, or if I let the flood continue, destroying 3000 of my life points with it."

Taishi expected it to be a hard decision, but was surprised when the choice was announced.

"I choose to keep my last card, and take the damage." Immediately, a geyser erupted from underneath the duelist's feet. Taishi winced a bit, but when all was cleared, began laughing. Someone being blasted from below by a pillar of water wasn't something you saw everyday, even in the dueling world. Taishi paused to make sure that her opponent's life points had indeed dropped to 4000 before doing anything else.

Since the damage obviously ended Skadi's turn, Taishi nervously drew her hand up to three. _Well, this is nice,_ she thought with a hint of sarcasm. "I play Graceful Charity," she announced, revealing the well known image of a stoic angel.

She groaned slightly at her draws, all three of which were the same card.

_Sure Taishi, organize the deck before you shuffle so the big combos are more likely to be closer together, _she scolded herself_. Fine lot of good it did you this time. It's a nice setup, but it doesn't matter if I don't draw an attacker._

Taishi discarded two of her drawn cards before setting the third in defense mode. "I set a monster, and another facedown card," the young woman finished, making sure her cards fit securely on her disk. "And I end my turn at that." Taishi didn't know if it was nerves, or the apparently dropping temperature, but she crossed her arms for warmth, fighting off the first waves of shivers.

Skadi drew up to a hand of two, which was quickly becoming the standard hand size of the duel. Then again every duelist made sure they at least had something to discard for a cost.

The masked woman smiled a bit before moving. "Looks like I'll be able to show you more of those Phantom Dragons after all. This one's called Phantom Dragon White-Snow."

Like the larger Phantom Dragon, the new monster was obscured by a constant dusting of snow flurries. This one, though not small, was definitely outdone in size by its counterpart. The monster had no apparent feet, and bore the same crystalline eyes of its larger relative. (1300/700)

"This is one of my favorite combos," Skadi admitted, "because all of my Phantom Dragons gain effects when multiples are on the field. White-Snow for example prevents you from activating Magic Cards without setting them, and they can't be activated on the same turn you lay them facedown."

Taishi's face twisted with frustration, but not panic. Still, she knew she was in more then a simple bind. A duelist's best chance of turning a match around was always with a Magic Card. Skadi had not only forced her to defend at least one extra turn against a monster with more attack power then a Lava Golem, but she had completely eliminated the element of surprise that Magic Cards usually carried, and Taishi knew that her reliance on Magic was far greater then most.

"Now then," Skadi continued, "I order Phantom Dragon Blue-Ice to attack your defending monster.

Taishi didn't try to understand the logic of the situation; she just activated her face-down trap.

"I counter the attack with Magic Cylinder," she announced, revealing the well know image. Before the pictured tubes even appeared on the field, the holographic card solidified within a prison of unforgiving crystal, and burst uselessly into pieces.

Taishi didn't know what had happened, but she knew the result. The facedown monster was consumed by the blue storm, leaving Skadi clueless as to what she had attacked. She didn't even manage to get a glimpse of the image when Taishi slipped the card into her graveyard.

"If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that your Phantom Dragon is immune to targeting Traps?" Taishi guessed.

"Close, I give you that," Skadi commended. "Blue-Ice is immune to all targeting effects actually, but only if there's another Phantom Dragon on the field."

"Any other effects you care to share with me?" Taishi pressed, hopping her opponent would be generous.

Skadi thought for a moment. "The only other one that would affect the game play at the moment is that you can only attack it when I have something in my Magic and Trap zone."

"Lovely," Taishi slumped. Her situation seemed to only be getting worse with each passing turn.

Skadi nodded. "I didn't attack your Goblin because I didn't know exactly what I was attacking, and it proved a good thing too, but luckily I still have a monster that can destroy it. Phantom Dragon, attack with Phantasm Drift."

Taishi watched as another one of her monsters was destroyed, this one after being buried alive in a contained snow pile. She looked at her life point counter dipping to 7300 and braced herself for another shock. This one still caused pain in her arm, but due to the cold, and/or the fact it was less damage it didn't seem so severe. She regretted the loss, but knew that is switching her King to defense, her opponent might not have attacked. It was a good lure to trigger Magic Cylinder, but unfortunately, Skadi had gotten the drop on her.

Skadi ended her turn, and Taishi fought back the chattering of her teeth as she drew for her turn. Her eyes widened considerably at her draw.

"As much as I hate the circumstances, I have to admit you're a good player."

Skadi grinned in thanks. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't. I know what you mean; I feel the same way about Jinzo. It's a pain to go up against, but you can't help but like it."

_Kind of makes me wish I had one,_ Taishi growled. Regaining her composure, the young woman smiled brightly. "Still, I've just drawn a way to defeat your Phantom Dragon even without Magic Cards."

Skadi raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Well, let's see it then."

"All right," Taishi granted excited. "How's this for the unexpected, King of the Skull Servants in attack mode."

At first there was only a dark shroud enveloping a pile of dragon bones and scraps of purple cloth. From under the pile, a skeletal hand rose to take a stand. Whereas a regular Skull Servant was about the size of a child, this one stood eye to eye socket with a tall man. It also held none of the lack of confidence of its counterpart, and stood on his pile with authority, surrounded by an aura of utter black. (4000/0)

Skadi was familiar with the monster, and though questions didn't help the circumstances, she felt compelled to ask anyway. "Ok, I can assume that you discarded some monsters with Graceful Charity, but where did the others come from?"

"Well," Taishi answered, "I had a King of the Skull Servants defending at the beginning of the game, since I couldn't use it quite yet. That one was wiped out by Torrential Tribute." Skadi nodded in understanding. "I sent two regular Skull Servants to the Graveyard with Graceful Charity, and you just attacked a third with your Dragon."

"Huh," Skadi replied with amusement, now that she understood the series of events. At a time like this, it was pretty much all she could say.

Taishi scanned the field, her eyes checking the presence of Skadi's hidden card. It wasn't as if she had a choice if she wanted to get the use of her Magic Cards back.

"Since I can only attack Blue-Ice, I'll have to do that this turn." Her King chuckled in anticipation, rubbing his boney hands together with an irritating scraping noise.

"Activate Frozen Soul," Skadi countered, making sure to activate the card before her opponent ever declared an attack. "Since you have more then 2000 life points more then me, your entire Battle Phase is skipped." Taishi fell back, protecting herself as best as she was able, as a chilling spectral skull rose from Skadi's Duel Disk, and passed through her entire area. The sharp blast of the cooling system from her own duel disk made her even more uncomfortable.

_This girl's just one combination after another,_ Taishi realized. _The Phantom Dragons, Crystal Seal and Driving Snow, she even took damage from that Treasured Cards of the Flow just to be able to use that trap when the time came. I'll bet that's why she didn't attack Goblin King with that dragon either._

The young duelist was feeling more and more out of her league with each passing turn. Her opponent even had the elements in the room on her side. Without the distraction of the game, Taishi went into her first true bit of shivers, her teeth chattering uncontrollably as she wrapped her arms around her all the harder.

Skadi continued with her turn, apparently not noticing Taishi's predicament, though it was impossible for the shivering girl to tell if it was on purpose or not.

Once again drawing to two, the woman in blue activated a Magic Card, thankful that she herself was not in Taishi's predicament.

"I play Different Dimension Capsule," she explained, as a strange sarcophagus bearing a clock shimmered into view in front of her.

This was a card Taishi as familiar with; as it had been used against her on several occasions. She had even tried using it herself at one point, but found the searcher took too long for it to make a difference in her game.

Skadi pulled a card out of her deck, and carefully placed it in a side pocket of her dress, making sure to keep the back to Taishi at all times.

For the first time in the duel, Skadi was the one forced into defending, which seemed ridiculous, as one turn earlier her current field seemed incredibly formidable. Keeping her pleasant smile, that Taishi easily recognized as forced.

"I'll get my card back in two turns," she stated, making Taishi wonder if it meant to explain the card, or reassure herself. The next move was obviously difficult for Skadi, as she moved the posture of her two dragons. "Phantom Dragon Blue-Ice and Phantom Dragon White-Snow are both changed to defense position," she confirmed with a hint of pain, knowing that her very good position wouldn't last. "I end my turn at that."

"Well this should be a simple turn," Taishi remarked, drawing her card for the turn. "I'll just have my King attack your Blue-Ice, and call it a move." Taishi looked over to see her monster already prepared for battle. "Skeletal Tyranny."

Black and purple flames jetted from the monster's eye sockets with more force or accuracy then any human invention had yet achieved. The monster didn't burst into triangles as much as it shredded, becoming almost indistinguishable from the icy storm clouds that covered it. Skadi couldn't help but wince.

True to her word, Taishi ended her turn, leaving Skadi to draw for herself. Groaning, the woman thought about just how much fun it would have been to have drawn her Cold Wave.

"I set one monster in defense mode," the duelist in blue declared, causing the brown back of a holographic card to fade into view before her, "and unfortunately, that's all I can do."

Taishi drew up to three cards, but remained ever vigilant for an approaching comeback. Wishing she had drawn this particular monster sooner, the young woman put her next attacker onto her disk.

"I summon Goblin King in attack mode," she decreed. The small fiendish ruler was far less powerful then her last one, but its 1000 attack points were still enough to take down Phantom Dragon White-Snow.

"Goblin King and King of the Skull Servants," Taichi commanded, "attack her two defending monsters now!"

The green skinned fiend raced across the field with a speed quite impressive for a monster wearing such a bulky robe. The goblin raced into the billowing snow cloud, waving an intimidating glowing red thumb. The storm hid the actual attack from view, but Taishi could see the cloud of snowflakes drop to the ground as sand. The young woman regretted not being able to see the dragon in statue form. She never got a chance. As soon as the Phantom Dragon made a satisfactory statue, Goblin King promptly smashed its head apart.

King of the Skull Servants spat the same darkest blaze from its eye sockets. The hidden defender was revealed as an alien looking creature wearing a set of blue armor covered in domes. (1300/1200)

"Aww," Taishi whined slightly disappointed. "I'm kind of fond of Ice Knight. Anyway, there's nothing else I'm going to do, so you can move."

_And I finally get a chance to summon this thing,_ Skadi thought as she looked with annoyance at a card that had been in her hand for far too long.

Skadi drew her next card astonished. This was turning into an even better combo then she had hoped for, especially given what turn it was.

"Since it's my second Standby Phase, I get the card back that I had searched for with Different Dimension Capsule," Skadi reveled.

Taishi had actually forgotten she had used it, but braced herself for something she was not going to find pleasant.

"I take it you're going to play it now?" Taishi asked, her eyes narrowing at the fact that her breath was in clear view. Taishi's mouth was beginning to dry up, and every breath was becoming more uncomfortable.

"Of course," Skadi responded politely, as if it was the first thing a person learned on the first day of school. "It's a Magic Card, Icicle Sacrifice."

"Haven't heard of that one," Taishi confessed, "but it sounds like a summoning spell to me."

"In a way," Skadi relented, as the card showing a Maoi Statue carved in ice rising from the middle of a glacier materialized in holographic form. "As powerful as the card is, few use it, because the price shuts down one of my monster zones for the remainder of the duel, with no way for me to get it back."

True to Skadi's word, a section of the floor in front of her burst into a growth of sharp ice crystals. Taishi seriously doubted that any monster would even want to stand there if they could. "The second effect," Skadi continued, gesturing to a new monster on her field, the frigid Maoi featured on the card itself, (0/0) "summons an Icicle Token to my field."

"Sounds expensive for a piece of tribute bait to me," Taishi told her, though she had to admit, it was an easy summoning device.

"I agree," Skadi confessed, surprising Taishi slightly, "but what makes this token worthwhile is that when summoning a monster it qualifies as two sacrifices instead of one."

"Kaiser Seahorse for any attribute in spell form," Taishi slumped. "That card just got a bit more balanced."

Skadi took another of the two cards in her hand, and immediately traded in her token, revealing a sleek dragon made of shimmering diamond crystal, complete with sharp horns and golden highlights. (2100/2800) "Hyozanryu may have been summoned using one tribute," Skadi addressed, "but he was still tribute summoned, and he still normally requires two. Therefore, I still get to draw two cards due to my Precious Cards from Beyond."

"That's why you went through the trouble with the Capsule?" Taishi realized. "Just for some extra draws to get you back in the lead?"

"That was the original intension yes," Skadi admitted slightly sheepishly, drawing her hand up to three. "But as luck would have it, I just drew a combo that makes the deal even better." The duelist in blue spun a Magic Card in her fingers, a very familiar one that Taishi recognized as another of her former cards. It bore the picture of a pitiful mutating humanoid. "I sacrifice Hyozanryu to activate Metamorphosis."

"Seven stars," Taishi franticly studied. "What Fusion monster has seven stars?" Speedily she made a mental note of what had been played so far throughout the duel. Remembering one of the monsters Skadi had used earlier, Taishi immediately knew what she was most likely to be facing. The discovery did not help her situation.

Chips of clear crystal began to chip away, eroding down to a crystal statue of a tall woman with flowing red blue hair, and a tight red and purple costume. The skater moved into a graceful glide, and then a dazzling spin, entrancing to Taishi's eyes before she struck a dominating pose. (4200/800)

Taishi cursed her luck. Even her king of the Skull Servants was 200 points too weak to take down a Cyber Blader as long as she possessed two monsters.

"Cyber Blader," The masked woman commanded with a point, "attack King of the Skull Servants with Whirlwind Rage!"

The ice performer took off with a speed seeming more like a hockey player then a figure skater. The skater glided around the edge of the arena, building up speed, as well as anticipation for the doomed skeleton.

Taishi watched as she built up a breakneck pace, her skates threatening to glide along the walls rather then the floor. The attack came without warning. Cyber Blader went into a spin, performing a dazzling triple loop, causing the impact of her skates to give off shockwaves of wind and frigid energy. The momentum carried into a second triple loop, the next pulse shattering Taishi's undead king within a tornado of unleashed anger.

The skater continues to glide, circling the floor like a shark, seemingly satisfied for the moment. She stopped in front of her summoned, twitching with anticipation and a gleam of malice in her eye.

Taishi felt the cold numbing her senses. It was getting more and more difficult to concentrate. The young woman forced herself to regroup, noting that her life points were now down to 7100, and Cyber Blader's attack power had halved. Still, Taishi knew that power alone wasn't going to beat the new foe. Not when Taishi only had a single monster in play.

Taishi looked on, and found a new reason to battle in the frigid room. Her opponent, who had seemed so kind, could not now be unaware of her situation. The rubber boots and gloved were probably comfortable to her, and Taishi doubted that the dress was as chilly as it looked. In fact… To Taishi it all worked out too well. The blue dress, the mask, the dropping temperature, and the icy deck theme all seemed too much to be coincidence.

Taishi didn't know why she was a target, but she knew that she was part of something more elaborate then she had suspected. The only way out seemed to be to win. _Besides,_ Taishi thought to herself, _nothing bad ever happened to anyone just because they lost a game of Duel Monsters._

Her mind froze as she thought of Peter, now knowing a piece of what he had gone through firsthand. Knowing he had almost been thrown over some kind of brink. Taishi knew winning would probably not solve all of her problems, but she knew it would be a damn good place to start.

"My move," she began, taking stock of her newest resource, "and I activate the Magic Card, Pot of Avarice." Taishi quickly selected the prospects from her Graveyard. "I choose to reshuffle King of the Swamp, Two King of the Skull Servants, one Skull Servant, and Goblin King."

Taishi bit back the bitter taste in her mouth as she reshuffled her deck. At this point, making a deck even thicker was probably not the best of ideas, especially since it meant weakening whatever future King of the Skull Servants she drew. Nonetheless, the took her two draws without complaint. That didn't hold true, however, when she found out what they were.

_Drat,_ she thought, after sifting through a few other words of choice. _The worst part about this deck is that there are so many combos it's hard to draw all the parts of one at once. Come to think of it, I'm amazed I've gotten this far._

"I set one card facedown," Taishi revealed with a sigh as the hologram faded into view, "and I switch Goblin King to defense mode. Go," she finished with a wave.

Skadi picked up her next card with delight. "Now I summon…"

"Something that had better be a Ritual," Taishi interrupted. "I activate Ojama Trio, summoning three Ojama Tokens to your field, and since they're taking up the only three slots left and you can't tribute them for monsters, you're pretty much locked out. Of course," Taishi smiled a little cheekily, ignoring the thin liquid dripping from her nose, "if you want to sacrifice your Cyber Blader feel free."

"Ach," Skadi challenged in disgust, apparently having forgotten her friendly role. Getting herself under control, she looked in annoyance at the new monsters she had been given.

The Green Token began building a miniature snowman from the holographic ice shavings left by Cyber Blader. The Black Token drew out a fishing pole, and began ice fishing with, naturally, ice cubes as bait. The Yellow Token apparently didn't get the point, and was currently set up on a lounge chair with a sun catcher and a pair of dark glasses. Taishi giggled despite herself. She had always wondered what this card would do as a hologram.

"Cyber Blader can still attack," Skadi defended desperately, "Whirlwind Rage!"

Skadi's fury seemed to have been passes on to Cyber Blader, as once more her elegant spins showed no mercy in shredding Taishi's defenseless Goblin King.

"And I end my turn with a card facedown," she concluded. "Go."

Taishi was feeling pretty good about herself at this point. She had a lock almost as effective as a Dark Door. Still, she knew it wouldn't hold up for long. The young woman glanced at her deck, asking it a favor as she pulled the card from her slot. As it sometimes happened when a duelist is in trouble, her draw was a good one, especially considering the rest of her hand.

"I activate Swords of Revealing Light!" she cried triumphant, thankful that as far as rarer cards went, this one wasn't as tough to find as others, and though was a bit snug on her price range, she managed to grab the last one left after her first store tournament win.

Five shining swords rained down from the ceiling. The first embedded itself in the sharp crystal taking up a monster zone, recreating an image of Excalibur. The other four arranged themselves in a line, the spaces too narrow for Cyber Blader to skate though. Each of the freeloading Ojama Tokens donned a pair of sunglasses, and began to observe with fascination the aurora effect the shining blades were creating when combined with the ice.

Taishi watched Skadi's reaction carefully, becoming quite pleased as she saw then tension rise, even behind her mask. "My turn's over," Taishi concluded, hoping that whatever Skadi drew wouldn't be able to wipe out her wall. Given what she had been playing so far, there was no doubt in her mind that a Mobius the Frost Monarch was lurking in that deck somewhere.

The woman in blue drew her hand up to a rather large five cards, but with no monster zones, she really didn't have any convenient way of getting rid of them. Reluctantly, Skadi put her plan into action. "I sacrifice my Cyber Blader in order to summon Big-Tusked Mammoth to the field in attack mode."

With no monsters, Cyber Blader couldn't draw out its true strength anyway. The elegant dancer spun in place, whipping up a whirlwind curtain that fell to reveal a much more primitive beast. The large mastodon seemed more demonic in some ways then beast, with large violet fur, and fierce red eyes. The large tusks, giving the beast its name, looked nothing like the smooth ivory seen on modern elephants. To Taishi, they looked more like some a couple of spinal columns ripped from some poor creatures and attached to the monster's face. Taishi's eyes narrowed; she didn't feel like dwelling on that unpleasant thought. (2000/1000)

Skadi let herself relax in satisfaction, giving a small smirk to herself. "That should take care of whatever you're trying to stall for. At least until I come up with a plan."

Taishi bitterly noted that the first turn on her Swords had passed as she inspected the rest of her hand.

_I can't depend on my Mokey Mokey combo now,_ she scowled with a mental curse. _I can't attack with anything on the turn I summon it. That means even if I last long enough to attack with Mokey Mokey King, I can't attack with the pieces to use the Smackdown._

Taishi reassessed the situation; trying not to focus all of his concentration on a combo she didn't even have all the pieces too yet. If a duelist set up too far in advance, they sometimes missed other complicated combinations that could help them, and right now, Taishi felt she had to be open minded.

"I set one monster in defense mode," she sighed, as the card shimmered into view. It took a moment for her to even fit it into the slot; her hands were shaking so badly from the cold. In frustration, she held the rest of her cards gently between her lips, being careful not to get them too wet. Taishi then slipped her hands under her arms for warmth, and nodded to her opponent to take her own turn.

Skadi drew again, growing even more frustrated at her situation with each turn. The masked woman glared at the tokens littering her field, shifting her gaze to the paralyzing Swords in her way. The game had reached a stalemate with nothing to do but wait. "I pass, there's nothing I can do."

Taishi drew nervously, fighting the shivers back again. She knew that the game had gone on for far too long, and she needed a way for it to end in her favor and fast.

"I discard King of the Swamp," she decreed, showing her newest card from her hand, "and use it again to move a Polymerization card from my deck to my hand."

Skadi said nothing, but looked affectionately at the card she still had facedown in play.

Taishi didn't notice, as she searched her deck, and quickly activated her newest acquisition. "I use Polymerization to fuse King of the Swamp, and two Mokey Mokeys in my hand to summon Mokey Mokey King."

Taishi's set defender, a face and arms formed of green mud, merged with two small square fairies, forming a monster that looked pretty much similar to the original Mokey Mokey, only about three hundred times its size. (300/100)

"The world's largest Chicklet with wings," Skadi mocked. "I know this combo, and I'm not about to let you pull it off. Reveal Trap Card, Cold Fusion!"

"I don't like the sound of that," Taishi gulped, expecting something dangerous and radioactive.

The trap card's picture looked identical to Polymerization, except the background colors were an icy blue. The monster silhouettes were also encased in a layer of thick ice. From the trap card, burst a single wave of cryonic energy, causing the squishy monarch to crack and burst like pretty much any matter would under such a drastic temperature change. Most of the ice vanished, but two large chunks stayed in place. Two large blocks encasing the two small petite forms of Mokey Mokey. (300/100 x2)

Taishi glared, looking for an explanation. Skadi granted her request before she had to put it into words.

"Cold Fusion is a trap card that destroys one of your Fusion Monsters and resurrects any components listed on the card. Unlike De-Fusion however, the summoned monsters are revived under the influence of Ice Counters preventing them from changing their position on the field. I know the potential of Mokey Mokey Smackdown, and I want no part of it. You can't even move your creampuffs out of defensive mode."

_At least I still have defenders,_ Taishi pleaded, nearing hopelessness. Her saving grace was the fact that her Swords would last another turn, and even then, she still had defenders.

Skadi drew her hand up to six, and was now extremely tired of being locked out. Her mouth, just under her mask gleamed. "I activate the Field Magic Card, Umiiruka."

As if the arena wasn't already uncomfortable enough, suddenly the floor was covered in a hologram depicting a churning ocean, alive with ice flows of various sizes. Taishi and her opponent were perched on the largest spires of the few stable icebergs. The young woman carefully stepped out a bit to make sure that the floor was still in existence, and was met with the reassuring stability of solid ground. The illusion was quite unusual, as the walls and ceiling of the room remained unchanged.

Taishi gulped. Skadi had been stuck with EARTH monsters; therefore she had little reason to activate such a field. She was obviously planning to use a WATER monster to go on the offensive, and with her field locked the way it was, there was little doubt in Taishi's mind that her opponent had drawn what she had feared.

"Now I sacrifice Big-Tusked Mammoth," Skadi decreed as she switched cards, "in order to summon Mobius the Frost Monarch."

One of the most well known monsters in the game awakened from a whirlwind of terrible ice. Spires of crystallized water rose from his every step. His armor was all blue and a silvery gray. His helmet concealed his face behind a metal beard, showing only eyes as cold as the Monarch's territory. (2900/600) In a blink, several crystal daggers shot from beneath the monster's billowing cape, obliterating the Swords of Revealing Light, as well as Skadi's Precious Card from Beyond, which had been doing nothing but taking up space for most of the duel.

"I also set a card facedown," Skadi continued, filling the newly vacated space. "Mobius, attack one of the frozen fairies with Ice Lance." She then paused for a moment. "You know, I wish they would have come up with a batter name."

Whatever the attack was named, it certainly was effective. Taishi couldn't tell whether the sparkles that remained were ice or shards of Mokey Mokey. Mobius trashed the entire structure with one fierce strike from his frozen javelin.

_And me with no monsters,_ Taishi whined, looking at her last two cards. Her stalling with the Swords had gotten her a full hand with little to use, and now she had to defend a turn earlier then expected.

Bravely, she took a card from the top of her deck, closing her eyes tight for a few seconds before even daring to take a peak, before gasping. "I've won," she stammered in shock.

"What?" Skadi asked, her tone bitter and mocking.

Taishi quickly checked her math again, coming to the same conclusion, and she looked up proudly. "You played a good game, but I just drew what I need to beat you," Taishi confirmed confidently."

"Let's see it then," Skadi replied sweetly, like a mother playing along with a child's wild story.

"First," Taishi cried in triumph, "I activate Premature Burial, reviving Ojama King from the Graveyard."

Skadi's eyes quickly widened. She knew what was coming next, and she had nothing to stop it.

Taishi's life points lowered to 6300, surprising the girl that the match had gone on for so long with her taking so little damage. The crimson circle soon had the large fat ruler sitting on it, none the worse for wear. (0/3000)

"I was kind of hoping I wouldn't have to use this for defense," Taishi stated, relieved. "Now I play Ojamandala, sacrificing another thousand points to revive my three Ojamas from the Graveyard as well."

Taishi was sure that the intricate painting would be involved, but her monsters showed that they were obviously too impatient to wait for an invitation. They huddles around their King, hugging whatever fat portion of the white ruler that they could get their stubby arms around. (0/1000 x3)

Even as Taishi's life points lowered again to 5300, Skadi now knew that this was going to hurt.

"Now," the young woan concluded, holding up the very card that Skadi was expecting, "I activate Ojamuscle, destroying every Ojama on the field, save for my King, and raising his attack power to six-thousand points!"

Ojama King inhaled the six small monsters like vitamin tablets, consuming them with an audible crunch. Apparently the taste was to his liking, as his physique grew in size, becoming more defined, and most surprising of all, the King gained an extra pair of arms.

**0000000**

"Isis, I am so glad that you're the one here with authority," Derik grinned. Isis seemed less impressed.

"You're insane."

Everyone in the room was precariously balanced on a large group of rubber mats used for stretching, laid out in several pathways leading to the doors. The quarters were tight, but not altogether uncomfortable. Many of the duelists had smashed apart the paneling on their Duel Disks, and were busy praying that this would work.

"I just had the idea, but you got everyone to cooperate."

"With the promise of a new disk," she sighed. The machinery on her arm was one of the few still complete.

"Look," Derik reasoned, "this should work. The glue is activated by water, if we can separate the molecules of the water, there will be nothing holding it together."

Isis sighed, not having any batter ideas. "Alright," she told one of the staff next to her. "Monitor everyone for safety, and tell them to be careful, give the word."

Derik carefully held the wires on his own disk, waiting to run them down the retractable wall that most of the staff seemed so interested in.

**0000000**

Skadi paled a bit as her life points dropped to 3100 with the Ojama Tokens' destruction. Between her Mobius at 2900 attack power, and Taishi's Ojama King now at 6000, the numbers were in perfect sync to defeat her in one blow.

"Is there anything that you would like to say?" Taishi asked a bit smugly.

"Chain," Skadi responded, more for herself then as an answer, "Windstorm of Etaqua."

_Oh come on! _ Taishi grit her teeth, _I almost had her!_

Whatever the circumstances, a chilling breeze sent the super sized King retreating into defense mode. Taishi's mood changed to livid as she noticed the monster's teeth chattering, and a long line running from his nose.

"You think I like this any better!" Taishi yelled in frustration, forgetting for a moment that the monster could not respond.

"Augh!" she threw her empty hands up in frustration. "Go!"

"Glad to," Skadi replied delighted, "and thank you for freeing my Monster Zones again."

Taishi's eyes narrowed. She had given up her best advantage, but she could hardly blame herself. She would have won if not for that trap at the last second.

Skadi looked happily at her hand of four, choosing the monster she wanted.

"I summon the Cold Enchanter in attack mode," she decided finally, setting the card onto her disk.

Taishi couldn't quite work out whether the monster was a Spellcaster or a Warrior. She wore a trench coat-like uniform and knee high boots. Her outfit was accented with crystal bands, even having a helmet of them. She carried a rod bearing a frozen motif, but it was impossible to tell if it was a wand or a fighting staff. (2400/800)

"A member of the nineteen-hundred club no doubt," Taishi observed harshly.

"More like Breaker," Skadi returned. "The Field is obviously giving her a boost, but she also gains three hundred attack power for each Ice Counter on the field."

Taishi glared over to her frozen Mokey Mokey as if it had betrayed her.

"She also can create an Ice Counter if I discard a card from my hand," Skadi revealed with delight. "but why pay the cost when I can create one for free. By sacrificing two WATER monsters, I can Special Summon this monster from my hand. Phantom Dragon Blue-Ice may be my most powerful monster, but this one is my favorite to use. I summon, Ice Master!"

Taishi had never seen a monster so elegant as this, and actually felt herself beginning to blush at what Mobius and Cold Enchanter had given way to.

The monster was tall, and decked out in icy blue and white, a startling contrast to his long flowing blond hair. His bearing screamed nobility, chivalry, and unquestioned command. A blue mask covered the lower portion of his face, but his eyes twinkled with wisdom. For a fleeting moment, Taishi found herself gazing at an angel. (3000/1500)

Skadi too was lost in the appearance of her monster, a ray of warmth in the otherwise frigid room. She sighed for a moment, lost in what she had brought forth.

"Shame really," the woman thought to herself. "I always hate having to do this."

"Do what?" Taishi asked, though at this point it wasn't clear that she would pay full attention to an answer.

"Well, you see," Skadi started, stumbling a bit with the words, "Ice Master can put an Ice Counter on any card once per turn. I'm choosing to place one on your Ojama King."

"OK," Taishi mumbled still in awe. A small sparkle drifted delicately from the monster's scepter, a staff of ice as tall as himself, bearing a large four pointed snowflake. Ojama King stuck out his tongue to catch it, only to have the organ frozen, and quickly drop to the floor. The large, white monster then proceeded to try and maneuver about, but had very little luck.

"And if I have to do this," Skadi continued, "I activate Cold Wave, preventing both of us from using any Magic or Trap Cards until my next turn."

"Do what?" Taishi inquired again, quickly snapping back to her senses. Skadi was obviously preparing for something, and she needed to be using her full attention to figure out what.

"Unfortunately, my Ice Master's effect requires that he be tributed, but in exchange all cards with Ice Counters are destroyed." Skadi's demeanor took a dangerous shift.

"Really?" Taishi tried to verify, looking onto Ice Master as his eyes narrowed into a glare.

The monster held his staff at arm's length, and began to rotate; causing instant and massive effects to his ever act. What had once been an angel to Taishi now had the personality of a beast, reaping destruction with a maelstrom of sheer cold. The whirling magician caught the duelist's gaze whenever he was facing her direction, his eyes still icy blue, but giving off the emotional tone of blood red carnage. The blizzard rose fiercer, battering the entire field until there was nothing but silvery dust in every direction. It may have been Taishi's imagination, but she could swear she heard the monster's laugh, and it bore the same voice as those acquainted with her mother.

For Taishi, it was not just her body that ran cold anymore. Memories long buried were flooding back, her own, as well as Peter's. The physical and emotional elements of her game began to shut her down, even as the unforgiving frozen storm began to cease. It was becoming too much for her system to handle, and her emotional systems began to fail, needing peace before returning to the real world. It happens at some point in every duel that someone's spirit begins to fail, sometimes before it even begins. It's when a duelist just doesn't want to play anymore, and only sticks out the game for the sake of finishing it. Taishi had finally broken.

"I end my turn," Skadi finished, leaving Taishi to numbly look up from her field.

The girl drew her card, not really paying attention. "I set one monster in defense mode," she declared, "and end my turn."

"So be it," Skadi declared as she drew. "I activate Coins from Heaven, meaning we each draw up to six cards."

Taishi drew her hand up to six, knowing that her drams of getting into a school were at a close, even with one of each Ojama, her last Polymerization, De-Fusion, and Ojama Delta Hurricaine now in her hand.

Skadi's eyes flickered, as she eyed her card, one that would seal her victory for certain. "I now activate one of the most devastating Magic Cards in the entire game, Giant Flood!"

0000000

"Impossible!" Duke yelled, causing Peter's gaze to jump from his screen.

"Yeah I know," Joey replied, his voice full of frustration. "That's the one Noah used on you, wasn't it Kaiba?"

Kaiba didn't answer, as Mai looked at the hologram take form.

"Four cards were printed by Pegasus designed as the ultimate weapons against the God Cards themselves," Duke explained. "Each was a Magic Card with a devastating effect, and little to no drawback. None of them were ever released to the public, how did this duelist get one?"

"Then how was Noah able to use one?" Joey accused.

"Because Noah's card database was created by hacking into the Industrial Illusions Mainframe," Kaiba explained. "It was a digital file, but to have a physical copy…"

"Means an inside job," Duke finished. "Not that there's never been leaks. Raigeki is the worst kept secret Industrial Illusions has ever had, and there have been fake copies around for years. They stopped when I started adding new code into the printed cards. We have the monopoly on the technology, so if a card is fake the Duel Disk's won't register it without exception."

Kaiba seemed on the verge of tears, though he kept his face turned from everyone. "They hacked into my computer, controlled my systems, and can steal some of the most secure cards on the planet." Kaiba had no doubt that this new force could ruin him and not think twice. And to think, it had all happened under his very nose. Since when did the hunter become the hunted?

Peter looked back to his screen just in time to see two words fill the entire square of light; **GAME OVER.**

**0000000**

Taishi had been warned about how tough a holographic duel could be, but this was nothing like she had prepared for. It was like an ironic series of bookends. Her first real offensive move had been a tidal wave. Now it was Skadi's turn to do the same.

The metal walls, untouched by Skadi's Field Card, flickered for a moment, melting into a standing wall of ocean water. Taishi barely had time to comprehend what she was seeing before the walls collapsed, causing the enhancers in the Duel Disk on her arm to strike the young woman's system with a new ferocity.

Were her eyes open, Taishi would see a maelstrom sucking up the oceanic barrage, taking with it several of her monsters in card form. The three Ojama monsters from her hand, as well as her third Mokey Mokey, the monster she had chosen as a defense.

From Skadi's hand vanished images of Frostosaurus, Etoile Cyber, Phantom Dragon Red- Mirror, and Phantom Dragon Yellow-Fort, though she didn't seem set back by the loss.

Skadi began to explain the effects of her card, but noticed that it wouldn't really matter. Her opponent wasn't really interested. She could change that.

"I then activate, Call of the Haunted," Skadi declared, revealing the trap card that was quite out of theme, but nevertheless useful, "and use it to summon a monster sent to the graveyard by my Giant Flood itself, Frostosaurus."

The three tombstones rose, and then the eerie smoke they emitted froze in midair. The beast that rose spread a layer of frozen condensation over every surface of the room, even freezing the holographic ocean created by Umiiruka. At one point the large sauropod may have been scales and blood. What appeared was a dinosaur seemingly composed of the very cold that theoretically wiped out it and its kin. (3100/1300)

"And now," Skadi triumphed, raising her final card, "I use Megamorph to double Frososaurus's attack power, enough to wipe you out in a single blow."

"Wait, please!" Taishi begged, knowing that in her disk's current position, this type of overkill would be dangerous, possibly even lethal as far as she knew. "It's overkill, I can surrender, you don't know what you're doing!" The poor girl was a shivering scared wreck; tears of fear making her seem even more pitiful.

"I'm sorry," Skadi replied with a genuine twinge of regret, "But that doesn't mean I won't win right here, Frososaurus…"

Taishi felt as if she was looking into doom itself.

"…Glacial Rampage!"

The attack had a power of 5700. Frigid bursts blasted from every surface of the monster, even as it let out a roar that Taishi hoped wouldn't be the last sound she ever heard.

She couldn't even scream as the entire store of her Duel Disk's battery discharged in a single burst, flooding her damp body with unrestrained electricity. Her vision and thoughts blurred as she fell backwards onto the cold floor, unable to pad her own fall. There wasn't even enough charge left in the pack to register her life point counter at a single horrible number; zero.

0000000

"Got it," Derik breathed in triumph, as the muscle of several people finally caused the wall to slide. The feeling of triumph was short lived however.

"Oh my God," he whispered, running up to the woman lying on the floor. He tried to rouse her for a moment before turning her head to feel for breathing. Feeling nothing, he gave her two quick breaths before checking her pulse. His heart began to race as he felt none. Quickly, Derik began a series of fifteen quick compressions, wincing as he heard the sound of broken ribs.

Isis quickly ordered staff to form a circle before asking the nearest person with a cell phone to call for help.

Though she didn't know the girl whom Derik was treating, she found herself impressed at his calmness in an unexpected situation. She caught herself staring a little longer then was appropriate.

No one noticed a woman in blue sneak out by pushing on the sliding wall on the other side of the room, one that hadn't been sealed all along.

0000000

Kaiba looked about to shatter the window himself, when the intercom light suddenly turned on. With ferocity of one desperate, he picked it up.

"There had better be…"

"Kaiba, I am told that someone as smart as you would know that I'm holding all of the cards, so to speak. You should have figured that part out."

"Whoever did this is in the building," Maikeru realized, seeing Kaiba's change in tone.

Kaiba cleared his throat. He didn't know exactly what this party could do, and he wasn't going to be the one to test anything. "Who are you?"

"I go by the codename Zeus, I'm sure it's a name you will remember."

"I remember," Kaiba growled. "You Skadi and Ra were the highest paid dueling assassins in history, more often then not your fee was higher then the tournament winnings."

"Paid by yourself to keep us from entering if I'm not mistaken," the voice chuckled. "Don't try anything, if we can do this, you know we already have our fingers in every single Kaibacorp file imaginable, and all of that data can be erased with a button."

"So it's blackmail," Kaiba reasoned. "Why would the most famous trio of Dueling Assasins in the world, with cards that powerful want to take over my company?"

"We don't," was the reply, "but our employer apparently does."

"Still an attack dog," Kaiba spat, "but what can you do to make me believe you're not bluffing. I get threats like this everyday."

"You'll get your proof when you return," the voice answered. Duke didn't like this one bit. They didn't even have a motive, as these three were only being told what to do.

"You have a chance to win your company back. Just have Isis report back here tomorrow at the same time, without alerting the authorities, and she can duel me personally for everything. Oh, and one more thing, the safety systems disabled."

Kaiba seethed. "Give me one good reason to put her in harms way like that? You're insane if you think…"

"That you're going to throw away the last six years of your life and more. We were given authority to destroy far more then company records. You've seen that already."

Kaiba's breath caught in his throat. "I can accept that."

The voice mused for a second. "Then I advise you to stay awake, Seto Kaiba" Zeus finished, "because by morning, you will have lost something very dear indeed."

Before anyone could question the intercom further, the red light faded to black. So, in away, did their hopes.

_**I never want to write a duel with an Ice deck again. Coming up, Kaiba finds out what Zeus's mysterious threat means. More on the trio's history is revealed. Derik and Isis's new relationship will unfold, and Peter lets the consequences of Taishi's devastating loss sink in. Next time: Coping with Shock. It's going to get worse, before it gets better.**_


End file.
